Modric's message to Ronaldo and Messi

Croatia's Luka Modric took the spotlight at the Golden Ball on Monday in two spectacular scenes.

Modric attended the ceremony although he was not on the final list of 30 players, and the Real Madrid player insisted on attending the ceremony in Paris to hand over the Golden Ball - which he won last year - to Messi.

Modric and Messi were applauded at length by the audience on his stage, and his speeches, which he later published, were widely praised on social media.

"Sport and football are not just about winning, it is also about respecting your teammates and competitors," Modric said on Twitter.

The comments were seen as a response to the behavior of Messi and his Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed the Golden Ball last year despite having Ronaldo in second place and Messi in fifth place.

Modric's official account praised the presence of Modric, and republished the Croatian tweet and enclosed it with the words "respectable human being."