Clubs: FC Barcelona

UEFA honours
UEFA European Championship: winner 2008
UEFA EURO 2008: Team of the Tournament
UEFA Champions League: winner 2006, 2009, 2011
UEFA Super Cup: winner 2009
UEFA Club Defender of the Year: 2006
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010

• A proud Catalan, Puyol experienced both promotion and relegation with the Barcelona B side before graduating to the first team in 1999 − won no trophies in his first six seasons with Barça until he captained the club to the 2004/05 Spanish title, retaining it 12 months later.

• Lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2006 after victory in the Paris final against Arsenal FC − played in 12 of 13 matches.

• Was a regular for Spain at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, where he won his 50th cap in the 3-1 defeat by France in the second round; started five matches for Spain at UEFA EURO 2008, where he was selected in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.

• Followed success with the national team by skippering Barça to a fabulous treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League in 2008/09; added the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to the haul the following season.

• Played all but six minutes of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning campaign, heading a semi-final winner versus Germany, and earned his 90th cap in the final against the Netherlands  − selected in the tournament's All-Star Team.

• Named in the UEFA.com Team of the Year for a record sixth time for his efforts in 2010 and ended the 2010/11 season with a substitute appearance in the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United FC.