UEFA honours

UEFA European Championship: winner 2012
UEFA EURO 2012: Team of the Tournament
UEFA Champions League: winner 2009, 2011
UEFA Super Cup: winner 2009
UEFA European Under-19 Championship: winner 2006
UEFA European Under-17 Championship: runner-up 2004
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012

• Came through the Barcelona nursery, joining at the age of ten, but left for Manchester United FC in 2004, aged 17, and made his debut as a substitute in a League Cup tie that October.

• Spent 2006/07 back in Spain on loan to Real Zaragoza, where he scored twice in 22 league appearances; returned to United for 2007/08 and was on target twice in three UEFA Champions League outings but not included in the squad for the Moscow final.

• Rejoined Barcelona in 2008 and became a regular in Guardiola's back four, winning both domestic trophies and the UEFA Champions League at the expense of final opponents United, who he also faced in the 2011 showpiece at Wembley.

• Scored the winner on his first competitive international appearance, a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier versus Turkey, and subsequently became a fixture in Vicente del Bosque's side, starting all seven matches during the triumphant World Cup campaign in South Africa.

• Won a third successive Spanish Liga title in 2010/11, scoring a career-best three goals in 31 outings, and added FIFA Club World Cup and Copa del Rey winners' medals to his collection in 2011/12; played in every match as Spain retained their UEFA European Championship title in Poland and Ukraine.