Lionel Messi has won LaLiga's Pichichi Trophy for an eighth time and the fifth season running, after finishing the 2020-21 campaign with 30 goals.

Messi may well have played his final game for Barcelona. He did not feature in Saturday's win over Eibar, having been granted permission to take a break ahead of Argentina's Copa America campaign.

The 33-year-old is out of contract at the end of next month and it is not yet clear where his future lies.

Though despite the uncertainty, Messi has not failed to deliver on the pitch, and from 35 league appearances, he netted 30 times – 17 clear of Antoine Griezmann, who ranks second for Barca on 13.

Messi's goals came from a total of 196 shots, with 27 from his left, one from his right and two from his head.

Three of the goals came from the penalty spot, and three from trademark pinpoint free-kicks. Overall, Messi averaged a goal every 101 minutes in the 2020-21 league season.

Barring a huge effort by Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri, who faces Deportivo Alaves on Sunday, Messi will finish seven clear of his nearest rival, with Karim Benzema registering 23 league strikes.

Rio Ferdinand has alleged he was racially abused while working at Manchester United's victory against Wolves on Sunday.

Former United captain Ferdinand was in attendance at Molineux as a pundit for BT Sport in the UK.

It was Wolves' first home game since fans were allowed to return to stadiums, but Ferdinand reported a supporter had been ejected for a racist chant aimed in his direction.

"The last couple weeks, it's been unreal to see fans back," he wrote on Twitter.

"However, to the Wolves fan who has just been thrown out for doing a monkey chant at me: you need to be dismissed from football and educated.

"Come meet me and I will help you understand what it feels like to be racially abused!"

United were 2-1 winners at Wolves after goals from teenager Anthony Elanga and Juan Mata either side of a Nelson Semedo equaliser.

Antonio Conte did not speak to the media after Inter were presented with the Serie A trophy, with assistant Cristian Stellini saying the coach needs a high-level project that the club must match.

Inter boss Conte, who has one year remaining on his contract at San Siro, is set for showdown talks with the club's board after steering them to a 19th Scudetto and their first since 2009-10.

The Nerazzurri are in a difficult position financially following the coronavirus pandemic, with the future of the head coach and a number of high-earning players consequently uncertain.

Speaking after a 5-1 win on the final day of the season on Sunday, Stellini suggested Conte would be more than happy to stay at Inter but he needs the club's ambition to match his own.

"It's something many are asking about," Stellini said to DAZN when quizzed on Conte's situation.

"We should take a step back and think back to the start of this project. It was an important three-year project to bring Inter back to victory in Italy and to succeed in Europe. In Italy we achieved a fantastic goal. Great empathy was created between the staff and the players.

"This project should continue, but the answer will only come from the club. If this project can continue, we would be very happy. But when you have a top, high-level coach, the projects must be of a high standard and must remain at the top."

It has been reported Inter could be forced to sell at least one big-name player due to their financial situation, something Stellini thinks would play a significant role in deciding Conte's position.

"It could change things, but it's something the club explains to the coach," said Stellini.

"I don't know if that will happen. I don't know when the meeting will take place and what they will say. In that way, the club could also decide the fate of their coach.

"We are optimistic because we have created what we were trying to create, which is a team that excels in Italy and wants to grow in Europe. 

"We have this possibility in our hands and we don't want to let it slip away. It was difficult to think we could interrupt the domination of Juventus. 

"The Scudetto was unthinkable. We all did an extraordinary job and that is why a team like this needs to keep growing."

Inter finished the season with 91 points, making Conte the first Serie A coach to gain at least 90 in two campaigns with different clubs.

Romelu Lukaku wants Inter to establish a prolonged period of dominance in Serie A after wrapping up their title-winning campaign with a 5-1 victory over Udinese on Sunday. 

Inter sealed top spot with four games remaining and finally got their hands on the trophy after a resounding win in front of 1,000 spectators at San Siro.

Their victory meant they gained more than 90 points in a single top-flight campaign for only the second time in their history (after 2006-07), while Antonio Conte became the first coach to achieve that tally with two different Serie A sides in the three-points-per-win era.

Ashley Young put the Nerazzurri in front early on, with goals from Christian Eriksen, Lautaro Martinez and Ivan Perisic putting them comfortably out of reach. 

Lukaku, who came on as a second-half substitute, scored fortuitously when Alexis Sanchez's cross struck him in the chest after coming back off the post. It was his 30th goal in all competitions this season and his 24th in Serie A – only in 2016-17 for Everton has he scored more (25) in a single campaign in one of Europe's top five leagues. 

Roberto Pereyra converted a consolation penalty for Udinese but that did little to dampen the Nerazzurri's celebrations, for which fans had gathered outside the stadium. 

Having denied Juventus a 10th straight Scudetto, Lukaku urged Inter not to rest on their laurels next season. 

"I hope it can be the start [of a successful era for Inter]. Now I'll go to the European Championship with my country and when we all return, we've got to be even stronger than before," Lukaku told DAZN. 

"This year was wonderful for us because we worked so hard to win this Scudetto. Last season we came really close, but this year we played well, were physically strong. We all made a big step forward. 

"I am truly proud to play for this team." 

Lukaku donned a personalised t-shirt with an image of his grandparents on and became tearful as he celebrated the first major honour of his career.

"I didn't want to cry today, but the emotion was just too strong. This photo is of my grandmother and my grandfather, and I thought of them," said Lukaku. 

"When my grandfather died in 2005, I promised him I would win at least something in my career. I did that today and I am truly happy." 

Joe Willock's hugely successful loan spell with Newcastle United concluded in typically impressive fashion on Sunday as he matched an Alan Shearer record.

The midfielder signed from Arsenal in January until the end of the season and has enjoyed an outstanding run of form.

Willock had scored only once in 40 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, but struck 16 minutes into his Newcastle debut against Southampton.

The loan man saved his best performances for the run-in, though, netting in consecutive appearances against Tottenham, West Ham, Liverpool, Leicester City, Manchester City and Sheffield United.

The goal against the Blades, securing a 1-0 win on Wednesday, made Willock the youngest player ever to score in six in a row in the competition.

And that run continued on Sunday against Fulham, as Willock's powerful run from deep on the right was only briefly disrupted on the edge of the area before he steered a low shot into the net.

Shearer, the Premier League's record goalscorer, is the only player to previously net in seven straight appearances in the competition for Newcastle. He did so between September and November 1996, shortly after his £15million world-record move from Blackburn Rovers.

Shearer responded to the latest goal in Willock's streak by posting on Twitter: "Yesssssss @Joewillock again. 7 on the spin."

Willock, who now has eight goals in 14 games for Newcastle, is expected to be a target for the Magpies in the transfer window, but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said this week: "He will be back with us, we will have those conversations with him and plan the next step then."

Bochum and Greuther Furth sealed promotion to the Bundesliga on Sunday, with Holstein Kiel slipping to third and facing a play-off against Cologne. 

A 3-1 victory over Sandhausen saw Bochum clinch the 2. Bundesliga title and a return to the top flight for the first time since their relegation in 2009-10. 

Greuther twice came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf, moving them above Kiel and back into the Bundesliga after an eight-year spell in the second tier. 

Kiel, who reached the DFB-Pokal semi-finals this season, missed out on automatic promotion after surrendering a first-half lead in a 3-2 defeat at home to Darmstadt. 

However, they can still earn a place in the top flight for 2021-22 by overcoming Cologne, who escaped automatic relegation from the Bundesliga on Saturday. 

Cologne will be at home for the first leg on Wednesday. The return fixture is scheduled to take place on Saturday. 

Inter capped their Scudetto-winning season with a resounding 5-1 victory over Udinese at San Siro on Sunday. 

Ashley Young, making what is expected to be his final appearance for Inter, got Antonio Conte's side up and running early on and Christian Eriksen's deflected free-kick doubled their advantage at the end of a tepid first half. 

Lautaro Martinez converted a penalty 10 minutes after the restart and Ivan Perisic added a majestic finish in front of the 1,000 spectators invited by the club to witness their crowning moment. 

Substitute Romelu Lukaku scored a fortuitous 30th goal of the season in all competitions before Roberto Pereyra converted a consolation penalty, but that did little to stop Inter celebrating as they finally got their hands on the trophy in front of a gathering of fans outside the stadium. 

Inter's coronation got off to a great start with Young latching onto Martinez's deflected shot and dinking a fine finish over Juan Musso after eight minutes. 

Eriksen replaced Stefano Sensi, who went off with an injury that could impact his hopes of representing Italy at Euro 2020, and found the back of the net with a powerful free-kick that took a touch off Stefano Okaka. 

Inter moved further ahead in the 55th minute when Marvin Zeegelaar tripped Achraf Hakimi inside the box and Martinez drilled the resulting penalty into the bottom-left corner. 

A swift break ended with Perisic curling Matias Vecino's pass across goal and into the top-right corner, before a cross from Alexis Sanchez hit the post and rebounded in off the chest of an unaware Lukaku. 

Inter were unable to keep a clean sheet as Nahuel Molina's cross was headed onto Eriksen's hand by Alessandro Bastoni and Pereyra beat Daniele Padelli, who replaced Samir Handanovic at half-time for what is set to be his final appearance for the club, from the spot in the 79th minute. 

Bobo got the only goal as Sydney FC ended a derby drought in their rivalry with Western Sydney Wanderers, whose hopes of reaching the A-League Finals suffered a major blow.

The 1-0 win for Sydney FC at the SCG extended their 100 per cent record – now three wins from three – in games played at the world-famous cricket ground.

Brazilian Bobo and Western Sydney's Bruce Kamau had goals disallowed before the game's decisive moment arrived in the 62nd minute, Milos Ninkovic's dinked cross from the left deftly headed into the bottom right corner by Sydney's prolific striker.

It gave Bobo a 10th goal in 19 A-League appearances this season and his fifth goal in games between the Sky Blues and Western Sydney. Only Alex Brosque (six) has scored more goals in the history of the rivalry.

The neat finish also allowed Sydney to end their six-game winless run against Western Sydney (L3 D3), with their most recent previous victory having come in December 2018.

Sydney sit second in the table, with Melbourne City having already secured the Premiers Plate, but the race is on for post-season places and Western Sydney are in danger of missing out. Needing a top-six finish, they sit ninth with three games remaining, three points adrift of sixth-placed Brisbane Roar, who have a game in hand.

Adelaide United nudged up to third position with a 1-0 win over lowly Melbourne Victory, with Craig Goodwin scoring in the 39th minute, securing a seventh win for the Reds in the last eight league meetings between the sides.

Perth Glory's Finals hopes were hit by a 1-1 draw against fifth-placed Macarthur. 

Diego Castro put hosts Perth ahead in the 13th minute from the penalty spot after Andy Keogh was impeded, but Matt Derbyshire levelled on the half-hour mark, plundering his 14th goal of the campaign from close range.

Neymar was touched by the sight of Luis Suarez in tears after helping Atletico Madrid clinch the LaLiga title.

Their Barcelona bond remains, even though both have left Camp Nou, where alongside Lionel Messi they formed the famous 'MSN' strike trio.

On Sunday, Neymar was hoping to help Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 title, as they looked to overhaul leaders Lille on the final day.

But the Brazilian was also caught up in the drama of Saturday's finale to the Spanish LaLiga season, as Atletico pipped Real Madrid to glory.

Suarez, who made a painful exit from Barcelona last September, scored 21 goals in 32 league games as Atletico broke up the familiar Madrid-Barcelona duopoly.

His goals were worth a total of 22 points to Atleti, more than any other player in LaLiga this season.

The 33-year-old let his emotions flow after scoring the decisive goal in the final-day 2-1 win over Real Valladolid, breaking down at full-time while on a video call to his family.

It was that moment that tugged at the heartstrings of Neymar, who alongside a picture of the weeping striker wrote a message on his Instagram story: "Well done @luissuarez. I'm happy for you brother. You deserve it. You're a star."

England international Kieran Trippier revelled in winning the championship in just his second year in LaLiga.

Trippier wrote on Instagram: "CAMPEONESSSS! Wow, what a feeling! To win @laliga with this incredible group of players is a dream come true. Thank you to everyone who has supported me this year. Vamos!!"

David Alaba admitted leaving Bayern Munich would be "one of the hardest steps" of his life after playing his final game for the German champions.

The Austrian defender appears likely to join Real Madrid in the coming weeks, having run down his contract at Bayern.

Alaba, 28, joined Bayern in 2008 and rose through the youth ranks to become a mainstay of the first team, winning a staggering 10 Bundesliga titles and the Champions League twice.

He announced in February that he would be departing at the end of the season, and the reality of that decision has now dawned for Alaba.

The versatile player, who can perform at left-back and centre-back and has also featured in a defensive midfield role for Bayern, broke down in tears recently when watching a series of video messages prepared for him.

He posted a farewell note on Instagram, having wrapped up his Bayern career by helping the team to a 5-2 win over Augsburg on Saturday. Alaba, Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng all featured for the final time.

Alaba's note on Sunday read: "My friends, my home, my love, all my pride. 13 years full of emotions, hard work, dedication, big moments, outstanding memories and love for the FC Bayern family.

"A time that taught me important lessons, that strengthened me and that made me the person who I am now. Season after season I learned what #MiaSanMia meant."

The club motto translates as "We are who we are", and is held in great reverence at Bayern.

"And every game I gave my best to show that. For you," Alaba added. "I will never forget, how we fought together on the pitch, celebrated our titles off the pitch and I will never forget how you, our fans, pushed and motivated us."

Alaba made 298 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern, scoring 24 goals and having 25 assists.

He helped the team keep 111 clean sheets across those games, did not receive a single red card in the league, and made only two errors leading to goals in the competition, according to Opta data.

Bayern team-mate Thomas Muller is the only other player in Bundesliga history to have won 10 titles, and Bayern have counted on Alaba as their Mr Dependable, the club stating he never served a suspension for accrued yellow cards in the league.

"I am glad and thankful that I could start here as a young boy with lots of dreams and that I could make these dreams reality," Alaba said. "Coming to Munich, joining FC Bayern was one of the best decisions in my life. Leaving this club and this city will be one of the hardest steps of my life.

"One thing for sure: I will never forget this time. @fcbayern"

The Ligue 1 title tussle between Paris Saint-Germain and Lille is going to the wire, and it is Les Dogues who hold a slender advantage heading into the final day.

Lille could have won the title – their first since 2010-11 – last week had they beaten Saint-Etienne and PSG dropped points against Reims.

Neither of those outcomes came to fruition, however, and Lille are just one point ahead with one game left to play. It is the smallest gap between a leader and the second-placed team at this stage in a Ligue 1 campaign since 2001-02.

Christophe Galtier's team need only to beat Angers to guarantee their triumph, but the mid-table team are one of the only three sides Lille have lost to this season in Ligue 1, while PSG face Brest.

Just below the title battle, Monaco – who have a slim chance of taking top billing – and Lyon are vying for the final Champions League spot. 

Monaco could yet end up at the summit, but Niko Kovac's team would finish fourth if they fail to beat Lens and Lyon defeat Nice.

At the other end of the table, there is potential for drama, with six teams between 18th-placed Nantes and 13th-placed Reims involved in a relegation scrap.

It has been a tightly fought contest throughout the season at the top of the table, but all will be decided on Sunday.

How does the predictor work?

First of all, here's how we got the data...

The data model estimates the probability of each match outcome – either a win, draw or loss – based on each team's attacking and defensive quality. Those ratings are allocated based on four years' worth of comprehensive historic data points and results, with more weighting given to recent matches to account for improvements or declines in form and performance trends.

The AI simulation takes into account the quality of the opposition that a team scores or concedes goals against and rewards them accordingly. All that data is used to simulate upcoming matches using goal predictions from the Poisson distribution – a detailed mathematical model – with the two teams' attacking and defending ratings used as inputs.

The outcome of the season is then simulated on 10,000 different occasions in order to generate the most accurate possible percentage chance of each team finishing in their ultimate league position. The points total is based on an average of the predicted points from the simulations of the league outcome.

Let's see how the model now predicts the final league table will look...

Lille likely to pip PSG to the post

Our model suggests that it will be Lille who hold firm to triumph this season, and claim their fourth Ligue 1 crown in the process, giving Les Dogues a 57.9 per cent chance of finishing top.

Lille did lose to Angers earlier this season, but they had won the previous three matches against them.

Angers, though, have only failed to score in two of their 18 Ligue 1 home games against Lille, doing so in their first such meeting in September 1957 (0-0) and in their most recent in February 2020 (0-2).

However, Lille's away form is superb – they have won 11 of their last 12 Ligue 1 games on the road.

Opta's AI predicts a 34 per cent chance of Lille finishing second, and an 8.9 per cent of them finishing third. The latter outcome would require Lille to lose, PSG to avoid defeat, Monaco to win, and there to be at least a six-goal swing in goal difference in the principality club's favour.

For PSG, the model offers them a 45.7 per chance of finishing second. If they drop points at all, then Lille will only need to draw to win the title, while a defeat – combined with a Monaco victory – would see Mauricio Pochettino's team finish third. Opta predict there is a 10.9 per cent chance of this happening.

There is very slim potential (3.1 per cent) for PSG to finish outside of the Champions League places and in fourth, but the goal difference swing required (17) would be bordering on the realms of impossibility.

PSG have a 40.3 per cent chance of finishing top, with Monaco not technically out of the running – they have a 2.6 per cent chance.

Monaco would need both Lille and PSG to slip up for that to occur. However, their main focus is to secure Champions League football.

Opta suggests this may be tough, with Lyon – led by the in-form Memphis Depay – given a 43.2 per cent chance of snatching third place, with Monaco destined for fourth. This is due in part to their poor record away at Lens in Ligue 1, where they have won just one of their last 14 top-flight games.

Bad luck for Brest

In the relegation scrap, Opta predict that Nantes, who currently occupy 18th place or Brest are the most likely teams to have to play-off against Toulouse or Grenoble Foot for a place in next season's Ligue 1.

Brest of course face PSG, and they have lost their last three Ligue 1 home games against the capital club, giving them a 50 per cent chance of finishing 18th.

Nantes are in action against Montpellier, and the model suggests their most likely finishing position is also in the bottom three (35.8 per cent), though only one unwanted place is up for grabs.

Reims, who sit in 13th, are not mathematically safe, with only two points between them and Nantes, but they are predicted to secure their top-flight status for next season.

Lorient, Bordeaux and Strasbourg could also be dragged into the relegation/promotion play-off place.

Orlando City continued their unbeaten start to the season Saturday as New England Revolution remained top of the MLS Eastern Conference table.

Tesho Akindele's header after 12 minutes to give Orlando City a 1-0 victory against Toronto FC, giving the Florida side three wins and three draws through six matches. 

The Revolution saw off 10-man New York Red Bulls 3-1 behind first-half goals from Gustavo Bou and Tajon Buchanan and an Adam Buksa tally late to seal it. 

Two late strikes from Lucas Zelarayan helped the Columbus Crew stun New York City FC 2-1 after the home side led into the 82nd minute. 

Felipe Mora's second-half brace and a penalty from Diego Valeri lifted Portland to a 3-0 triumph over 10-man LA Galaxy. 

Diego Rossi scored twice before the break as Los Angeles FC held on to defeat Colorado Rapids 2-1. 

Houston's Memo Rodriguez and Maximiliano Urruti provided the winning margin for Houston as they won 2-1 over Vancouver. 

Sporting Kansas City continued their strong start, shaking off an early San Jose Earthquakes goal from Javier Lopez en route to a 3-1 win as Jaylin Lindsey, Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi found the back of the net. 

Luka Stojanovic lifted Chicago Fire past Inter Miami 1-0 for their first win of the season, and FC Cincinnati also emerged victorious for the first time this term with a 2-1 win at Montreal. 

Real Salt Lake escaped with a 2-2 draw at FC Dallas thanks to Damir Kreilach's goal after 86 minutes. 

Atletico Madrid are champions of Spain again after holding off heavyweight pair Real Madrid and Barcelona in the closing stages to win their second LaLiga crown in eight seasons.

Atleti beat Real Valladolid 2-1 on Saturday to finish two points above Madrid – the only side that could catch them heading into the final round of games after Barca lost ground.

Diego Simeone's men moved into top spot with a 4-0 win over Cadiz on November 7 and, despite some inconsistency over the past two months, they have stayed there ever since.

With the help of Opta, we took a look at the numbers behind Los Colchoneros' latest triumph.

ATLETI BREAK MADRID-BARCA STRONGHOLD

Atleti have now been crowned champions of Spain 11 times – three of those in the last 43 years – which is third only to perennial winners Real Madrid (34 titles) and Barcelona (26).

Athletic Bilbao are next on the list with eight titles to their name, while Valencia have come out on top on six occasions.

Indeed, Simeone's charges are the only side other than Madrid or Barca to finish at the summit of Spain's top flight in the past 16 years, doing so this season and in 2013-14.

Atletico have now claimed the title in at least one season in eight of the last 10 decades – only in the 1920s and 1980s did they fail to do so.

DESERVED TITLE WINNERS

Atletico have spent 30 matchdays on top of the table, despite only stringing together successive wins on a couple of occasions since the end of January.

They won 26, drew eight and lost four of their 38 matches to end the season with 86 points – their longest winning run being the eight strung together between December 19 and January 31.

It is the 10th time Atleti's fate has gone down to the final day of the season, most dramatically of all in 2014 when drawing away at Barca to hold off their title rivals.

That season, incidentally, Simeone's side spent 11 matchdays alone at the top of the table.

THE CHANGING FACE OF ATELTICO

Another interesting aspect of Atletico's title success is that this is the first season they have averaged more than 50 per cent possession in the league under Simeone.

They have averaged 52.02 per cent possession in LaLiga in 2020-21, which compares to 48.75 per cent in the season they last finished top, and is an increase on the 47.86 per cent they managed last season when finishing 17 points off top spot.

Increased possession has led to a better balance, too, with Atletico scoring 67 goals this season, which is the joint-third most they have mustered in Simeone's nine seasons at the helm, alongside 2014-15 and behind 2013-14 (77) and 2016-17 (70).

The 25 goals they have conceded, meanwhile, is their fourth-best return over that time, their best season in that regard being the 18 goals shipped in 2015-16.

OBLAK, SUAREZ AND LLORENTE KEY TO SUCCESS

As Simeone has himself repeatedly pointed out, this has once again been a collective effort from Atletico.

However, there is no doubt that this latest title triumph would not have been possible if not for certain individuals – none more so than Luis Suarez, who joined from Barcelona at the start of the season for a small fee.

The Uruguay international scored comeback-clinching goals for Atletico in their final two games of the season and won 21 points for his side in total – more than any other player in the division – with his 21 goals.

Indeed, only Radamel Falcao in 2011-12 (24 goals) and Antoine Griezmann in 2014-15 (22) have scored more goals in their first season at the club in the 21st century.

At the opposite end, goalkeeper Jan Oblak made 103 saves from the 125 shots faced in LaLiga this season – an 80 per cent save rate, the best percentage of any keeper in Europe's top five leagues among those to have played at least three times.

Marcos Llorente is another deserving of special recognition, having played a direct part in 23 LaLiga goals – 12 of his own and a further 11 assists – a tally that is bettered by just Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (30) among midfielders in Europe's top leagues.

His 12 goals came from an expected goals (xG) return of 3.4 – a difference of 8.6 – which is the biggest differential between xG and actual goals of any player in the big five leagues bar Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (41 goals from an xG of 32.3).

Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid's latest LaLiga title success feels particularly special in a year complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Atleti beat Real Valladolid 2-1 at Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Saturday to finish two points above Real Madrid, who themselves completed a turnaround by the same scoreline against Villarreal.

It is Atleti's 11th title and their second in nine years under Simeone, on top of winning two Europa Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana.

That sees Simeone overtake Luis Aragones (seven trophies) as the Spanish side's most successful ever coach.

Atleti were top for 30 matchdays and, despite being given a scare by Madrid and Barcelona in the closing weeks, Simeone feels his side are deserving champions in what has been a tough year for everyone off the field.

"It has been a complicated year," Simeone told Movistar+. "It's one of the best years to be champions. I'm happy for a lot of people. 

"Many people have been lost to the virus. For Atletico to be champions is a different feeling.

"The two league titles we have won come with different feelings. The world is experiencing a bad situation and I hope that we have given a lot of people some joy.

"Spending as long as we did on top is huge. I'm grateful, especially to those who played less than others. We stuck to our goals throughout."

Long-serving boss Simeone, who has also guided Atleti to a couple of Champions League finals, hinted earlier this season he may soon seek a new challenge.

The 51-year-old accepts that his training methods can take their toll on players but can see a bright future for Atleti going forward as he hinted at a longer stay.

"I've no doubts that people can get tired, but I'm very hard-headed," he said. "I knew and know that this club can keep growing and I hope it will continue like this.

"The club have done incredible work. Miguel [Angel Gil Marin], Enrique [Cerezo] and all of the unseen people have given us stability beyond results. They've always wanted this.

"They're not here celebrating, but soon we'll all embrace."

Oscar Plano gave relegated Valladolid a shock half-time lead against Atletico, but Angel Correa's stunning solo effort – the Argentine's 20th direct goal involvement for Atleti across all competitions in 2020-21 – equalised before Suarez's winner.

Suarez's 21 top-flight goals have been worth 21 points to Atleti this season, more than any other LaLiga player, and Simeone was quick to praise both of his forwards, who have kept big-money signing Joao Felix out of the side during the run-in.

"I've been saying that Angel has needed a goal for a long time," Simeone said. "It makes me happy that he's been called up by the [Argentina] national team.

"As for Suarez, I said before that his surname speaks for itself!"

Ronald Koeman believes his first campaign in charge of Barcelona can be considered a positive one and is confident he will still be in charge next season.

Barca beat Eibar 1-0 in their final LaLiga game of the campaign on Saturday to finish third, five points behind Real Madrid and seven adrift of champions Atletico Madrid.

The Catalans also exited the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain at the last-16 stage, as well as losing to Athletic Bilbao in January's Supercopa de Espana.

Koeman's side did exact revenge by beating Athletic in last month's Copa del Rey final, though, and the Dutchman feels that trophy has salvaged this season.

"We have won many points in the league since the start of 2021 and won the cup in a brilliant way," Koeman said after the late win at Ipurua.

"We were unable to take advantage at the top of the table when we could have and we must learn from that.

"If you'd told me in August we'd win a trophy and be fighting for LaLiga with two or three games to go, I would sign for it. 

"Hopes were too high during the season – that's how I see it. That's why I think it's not a bad season, far from it. 

"It is not the best possible season, but you can't ask for a double every year, or from a team that is still forming."

The 79 points collected by Koeman is the fewest of any Barcelona boss in their first 38 league games since Frank Rijkaard (72) in 2003-04.

This is the first season Barca have finished outside the top two since 2007-08 and the only time they have gone successive seasons without finishing top since between 2006 and 2008.

But Koeman, who hinted at a lack of support from those above him at his pre-match news conference, insists he is still at the start of a long-term process in Catalonia despite reports suggesting he will be replaced in the close season.

"I don't think this is my last game," he said. "I have a contract and, I don't know... you talk a lot about it, but I'm calm. If the club want to change something, they must talk to me.

"From the moment I arrived, the only signing made was [Sergino] Dest, on the last day of the window. The squad is not at the level we want to have at Barca.

"Many at the club agree with this. We are trying to improve the squad. There are older players, with all due respect, who can still give a lot.

"The younger players need to gain experience and will become better. You cannot change the squad in one season alone."

While Barca were battling to a 1-0 win at already-relegated Eibar on Saturday, Atletico picked up the win they needed against Real Valladolid to pip Real Madrid to the title.

Atleti have led the way at the summit for 30 matchdays and Koeman says his side can have no complaints about missing out on top spot.

"Atletico deserved to win the championship," Koeman said. "They have been leaders for a while and have a very well-made squad.

"In general, they were a little better than Real Madrid and Barcelona. Congratulations to them, and nothing more."

Barca were heading for a goalless draw with Eibar before Antoine Griezmann fired in an impressive acrobatic winner nine minutes from time.

He has been directly involved in 25 goals across all competitions in 2021 – 15 goals and 10 assists – which is behind only team-mate Messi (37) and Villarreal's Gerard Moreno (30) among LaLiga players.

And like his head coach, Griezmann hopes Barca can strengthen their squad during the close season.

"We are hurting after missing out on the title. We have failed in some important games and have to rest and see where we can improve for next year," he told Movistar.

"I will continue working like I have for the last two years, and the president will make his moves."