Manchester City ace Kevin de Bruyne is proud finishing third in the Ballon d’Or race.
De Bruyne finished behind Sadio Mane and winner Karim Benzema.
The Belgian solidified a ‘podium finish’ after the voting saw him see off the likes of Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski at the award show in Paris.
“There is only one player that can win the Ballon d’Or out of millions of people, so to be in that top 30 list for a long time now is something I already appreciated,” De Bruyne said.
“I think as a player you know when you played well, when you played bad and when you played good consistently for seasons. I think the best players are their own critics.
“The real top, top players push themselves so high, to the limit, that it is almost impossible to have bigger critics of them.
“I have been nominated quite a few times now, so it means you have been doing well consistently. To be recognised as a player is always nice. If you are in that list, then it means a lot and after it is the people’s opinion.”