Barcelona celebrated another La Liga triumph with a 4-0 home win against Valladolid. Fittingly, Lionel Messi scored the final two goals of a season in which he has proven beyond almost any doubt that he the best in the world.

The diminutive Argentine striker has been inspirational in Barcelona’s campaign and they claimed their 20^th domestic league championship ahead of bitter rivals Real Madrid whose 1-1 draw at Malaga was immaterial. The Catalan giants lost only one league game all season and finished a full 28 points ahead of third-placed Valencia. Messi himself equalled Ronaldo’s club record of 34 goals in a league campaign.

Real Madrid will not be pleased with the runners-up spot as the investment in Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo that totalled £136M produced a second consecutive season without silverware. Three away defeats did not help their cause but the El Classico loss at the Bernabau was the key game as Messi again was the difference.

Valencia gain a chance of UEFA Champions League glory with their third place finish whilst Seville’s Miguel Cordero scored in the fifth minute of injury time to snatch the final Champions League spot from Mallorca. Getafe secured the final Europa League position with a last day win.

Xerez, Valladolid and Tenerife were relegated in one of the closest finishes for years. All had a chance of survival going into the last round of games and with Malaga one place above the relegation zone facing Real Madrid they may have feared the worst. As it was, Valladolid’s defeat at Barcelona, Xerez’s draw at Osasuna and the defeat at Valencia for Tenerife meant that Malaga’s holding of Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw was enough.