Dejan Lovren believes his Croatia team-mate Luka Modric would win the Ballon d’Or if he played for Germany or Spain.

The Real Madrid midfielder has had a strong World Cup campaign so far, scoring in both of Croatia’s first two victories in Russia.

The Ballon d’Or has been won by five-time winner Lionel Messi, who was upstaged in the 3-0 defeat to Croatia and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo in previous years with Modric never even making the top three.

“It is a real pleasure to play with Luka Modric, who is one of the best players in the world right now,” Lovren said at Croatia’s training base in Roshchino on Sunday.

“Modric would probably be getting more attention than he is right now if he was a German or Spanish player. He would maybe even be a Ballon d’Or winner.

“But because we are a smaller country, he does get less attention than he deserves. We are all football lovers and we know Modric is an incredible player.”