Luka Modric made history in December by becoming the first player to win the Ballon d'Or that wasn't named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo since 2007.

Kaka was the last man to win the accolade before Messi and Ronaldo's dominance began and it has to be said, Modric was a deserved winner.

Not only did the 33-year-old win a third-successive Champions League with Real Madrid, but he guided Croatia to the World Cup final.

Modric winning the Ballon d'Or sparked controversy for obvious reasons. Previously the award has gone to the best player in the world, which the Croatian certainly isn't.

But 2018 saw a change that meant collective achievements outweighed individual merits, so by winning the Champions League and reaching the World Cup final, Modric was number one.

It's a decision that will benefit goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders, who haven't stood a chance over the past decade due to Messi and Ronaldo's ridiculous goalscoring figures.

Because the fact of the matter is there are some fantastic midfielders out there at the moment who arguably deserve more recognition.

N'Golo Kante, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Busquets have all been at the top of their game in recent years and won countless trophies with their respective clubs.

And so, FourFourTwo have ranked the 10 best central midfielders in the world right now. Check out their list below.

10. Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich and Spain)

9. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City and Portugal)

8. Paul Pogba (Manchester United and France)

7. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona and Spain)

6. Miralem Pjanic (Juventus and Bosnia)

5. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)

4. David Silva (Manchester City and Spain)

3. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany)

2. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea and France)

1. Luka Modric (Real Madrid and Croatia)

It's a pretty hard list to argue with, but based on this season's performances you could argue that Toni Kroos should be lower down than third.

Real Madrid have been awful and look set to end the campaign trophyless, whereas Silva and De Bruyne are in with a chance of winning the quadruple with Man City.

Elsewhere, Paul Pogba's resurgence at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has earned him a place in the top 10, while Sergio Busquets's inclusion comes as no surprise whatsoever.

Would you change FourFourTwo's rankings of the 10 best central midfielders in the world? Give us your thoughts in the comments section.