• Voted Best Player of the Tournament at UEFA EURO 2012, where he shone repeatedly in Spain's successful defence of the Henri Delaunay Cup, winning three man of the match awards, the last of them for his brilliant performance in the final against Italy.

• On the back of his exceptional displays for Spain in Poland and Ukraine he pipped Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the 2011/12 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.

• A runner-up in the Spanish Liga and a UEFA Champions League semi-finalist with FC Barcelona, he helped the Catalan side to conclude the Josep Guardiola era on a high with victory in the Copa del Rey, playing the whole of the final against Athletic Club.