Andres Iniesta wins UEFA Best Player

On the occasion of a special ceremony that was held tonight in Monaco during the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage draw, FC Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta was voted the winner of the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for the season 2011/12.

The Spanish international claimed a total of nineteen votes, leaving in second place his teammate and last year’s award winner Lionel Messi together with Real Madrid CF striker Cristiano Ronaldo with seventeen votes each.

For this award, players were judged on their performances during the 2011/12 campaign in all competitions, both domestic and international, and at club and national team levels.

The jury was composed of fifty-three renowned sports journalists representing each of the UEFA member national associations. The journalists voted live, via an electronic voting system*, in order to determine the final winner amongst the last three nominees.

Receiving the award on stage from the hands of UEFA President Michel Platini, 28-year-old Andrés Iniesta said:

“I’m very happy to receive such recognition. As I always say, such awards for one individual can’t be achieved without the whole team. So it’s a sensation that I want to share with my teammates at the club, and in the national team.

“It’s recognition for the work that you have done well, and that people are proud and have faith in what you do. And that is really nice, and very important for a player”.

Full details of the voting results can be found on UEFA.com.

* 52 of the 53 journalists attended the draw in Monaco, with the vote from the journalist representing the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia cast by telephone to the independent auditors, Ernst & Young.

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