Iniesta wins Uefa best player award ahead of Ronaldo and Messi

Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta has scooped Uefa's award for the best player in Europe over the last season ahead of Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 28-year-old shined as the Blaugrana finished second in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

He also performed admirably as Spain retained their European Championship crown in Ukraine and Poland in the summer and was subsequently named the best player at the tournament.

And he has now scooped another award, pipping the Argentine and Portuguese forwards, despite their respective 73 and 60-goal campaigns.

"Without my team-mates at the Spanish national team and Barcelona I wouldn't have won this individual trophy," he commented.

His captain at club level, Carles Puyol, was quick to congratulate the Albacete-born schemer on his official Twitter page.

"Congratulations, Andres!! You deserve this."

Iniesta received 19 votes from the panel, while Messi and Ronaldo were both given the nod by 17 voters.

In last year's edition of the award, Messi was named as the best player in Europe, with fellow Barcelona star Xavi and Ronaldo finishing in second and third place respectively.

Clasico defeat hurts our soul, but now we must focus on beating Chelsea, admits Iniesta

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta admitted that Saturday night's Clasico defeat had been soul-destroying but insisted that Pep Guardiola's men can bounce back in their midweek Champions League clash with Chelsea.

The Catalans had been hoping to close to within a point of Los Blancos at the top of the Liga standings but they came out on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline at Camp Nou, with Cristiano Ronaldo firing home the winner on 73 minutes, just moments after Alexis Sanchez had cancelled out Sami Khedira's early opener.

As a result, Barca now trail their great rivals by seven points with just four rounds of the season remaining, and Iniesta conceded that the title race is now effectively over.

“It hurts our soul to not be able to prolong the Liga battle a little more, but we have to accept it,” the Spain international is quoted as saying by his club's official website.

“The Liga title has practically slipped away. The difference in points is large and there are few [points] left.

"We knew that it would be difficult, especially knowing that they depend on themselves - but we gave it a go.

“Our only option was to win and they played with that in mind. With a draw, when it looked as though we were fighting for the win, their quick reply slowed us down.”

Iniesta, though, is in no doubt that Barca can put their Clasico disappointment behind just as quickly and overturn their 1-0 first-leg deficit in their massive Champions League clash with Chelsea in Catalunya.

"We have to be prepared and eager for this Tuesday," the World Cup winner said. "We have to focus on the next competition. A lot is at stake and we cannot falter.

“It’s a completely different game against Chelsea. What we’re concerned about is getting to the final in Munich and the wellbeing of the team.”

Barca's meeting with the Blues at Camp Nou kicks off at 20.45CET.