Holding off competition from the two favourites, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta was the winner of UEFA’s Best Player in Europe Award for 2011/12, amassing 19 votes compared to the 17 collected by both Ronaldo and Messi. Iniesta immediately paid tribute to his teammates upon receiving the award, mentioning that "Without my team-mates at the Spanish national team and Barcelona, I wouldn't have won this individual trophy."

Iniesta might not have had the most productive season in terms of goals scored and assists to his teammates, but as per usual he delivered right when Barcelona needed him most. Starting with his goal in the opening leg of Spanish Supercopa to his assist in the final of the Copa del Rey, Andrés Iniesta delivered world-class performance after world-class performance, with my personal highlight being his three assists in the 4-1 win over Malaga at the tail-end of the season. Also voted as the Best Player in the summer’s UEFA European Championships, this is a win that Iniesta so richly deserved.

Quick to congratulate his Barcelona teammate was Carles Puyol, who took to Twitter along with David Silva to pay tribute to their friend's win:

Felicidades @andresiniesta8!!! Te lo mereces!

— Carles Puyol(@Carles5puyol) August 30, 2012

You are the best @andresiniesta8 ,you deserve it my friend,really happy for you.All the best

— David Silva (@21LVA) August 30, 2012

Congratulations Andrés!