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Come Fan with UsThursday, June 25, 2026

Andres Iniesta Named Best Player In Europe

Andres Iniesta has been named Europe’s best player in an award ceremony following the Champions League draw.

KIEV, UKRAINE - JULY 01: Andres Iniesta of Spain gives a thumbs up as he celebrates victory after the UEFA EURO 2012 final match between Spain and Italy at the Olympic Stadium on July 1, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
KIEV, UKRAINE - JULY 01: Andres Iniesta of Spain gives a thumbs up as he celebrates victory after the UEFA EURO 2012 final match between Spain and Italy at the Olympic Stadium on July 1, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
KIEV, UKRAINE - JULY 01: Andres Iniesta of Spain gives a thumbs up as he celebrates victory after the UEFA EURO 2012 final match between Spain and Italy at the Olympic Stadium on July 1, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Getty Images

After watching thirty seconds of journalists staring at miniature computer screens and then a few minutes of listening to footballers babble about how awesome they are -- the footballers in question are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta, so it's not exactly arrogance -- UEFA have announced the winner of the evocatively entitled 'Best Player in Europe Award'. And it's Andres Iniesta.

This is a bit of a surprise, as he was competing against two players who scored approximately a billion goals in all competitions, bit it appears that UEFA's journalists are weighting Iniesta's brilliant play during Spain's Euro 2012 run pretty heavily, enough to push him above Barcelona teammate Messi and Ronaldo. Iniesta's a genuinely brilliant player, but the look of disbelief on the other two's faces give some indication of who deserved the award more. Strange, strange choice from the voters here. Ah well. Who are we to dispute democracy in action?

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