UEFA honours
UEFA European Championship: winner 2012
UEFA Cup: winner 2006, 2007
UEFA Super Cup: 2006

• A local lad, he joined Sevilla's youth section and played in the club's B squad for two seasons in the third division before breaking into the first team in 2003/04 and the Spain Under-21 side the following campaign.

• Played a leading role in Sevilla's 2005/06 UEFA Cup win, appearing in 12 games, including the final in Eindhoven against Middlesbrough FC.

• Enjoyed further success the following season, winning the UEFA Super Cup, Copa del Rey and another UEFA Cup, coming on as half-time substitute in the Glasgow final versus RCD Espanyol.

• Made his UEFA Champions League debut in 2007/08 and missed only two league games all term, scoring four goals; posted a similar return in 2008/09 as Sevilla finished third in the Liga for second time in three seasons.

• Won his first cap for Spain in a Madrid friendly against Argentina at the start of the 2009/10 campaign; featured three times during Spain's triumphant 2010 FIFA World Cup expedition in South Africa, including a 60-minute outing in the final against the Netherlands.

• Impressed in the following two seasons as Sevilla finished 5th and 9th in the Liga, racking up five goals and 12 assists in the latter earning a call-up to Spain's UEFA EURO 2012 squad; made three substitute appearances in Poland and Ukraine as La Roja retained their European title.