Iniesta lands UEFA gong

Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta received the UEFA Best Player in Europe award on Thursday after pipping Cristiano Ronaldo and club-mate Lionel Messi in a journalists' poll.

It is his second major individual honour of the summer, after he was named Player of the Tournament for his role in Spain's triumph at UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

The award was decided by 53 European journalists who cast their votes during Thursday's UEFA Champions League group-stage draw in Monaco.