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Eric Abidal made an emotional final appearance for Barcelona as his club ended a spectacular La Liga season by beating Manuel Pellegrini's Málaga – a result which means they finish the campaign with a record-matching haul of 100 points. The 33-year-old, who helped Barcelona win 15 titles in six seasons, battled back from a liver transplant last year, and now plans to continue his playing career elsewhere.
Abidal didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to the fans: "My family and I want to thank you for all the support you have shown me over the years, it has been spectacular. Thank you Catalans, you are part of my family." He then addressed his team-mates: "without you I would have won nothing. You are the best." He went on to declare his love for the Club and for the fans: "I will always carry you in my heart. Visca el Barça and visca Catalunya!"
After the match against Málaga, Andrés Iniesta talked about Barça’s season and his match against the Andalusian side. "We wanted to finish our league campaign strong, win the match, and make sure the fans have a good time. Once we won the league title, we wanted the 100 points, it was an incentive, it’s a scandalous amount of points. It’s one for the history books," he said.
Chelsea are ready to sell David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic to Barcelona for a combined £40million. Brazilian defender Luiz is valued at £30m by the Blues, with Serb Ivanovic rated at £10m. Incoming Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has already sanctioned the plan to cash in on the pair so he can raise funds for his own summer spending spree.
The FC Barcelona manager evaluated Barça's season after this Saturday's match against Málaga: "With everything we have overcome this year, we should be pleased with what we've done". He added: "It has been a very good season. There are records that we won’t be able to beak again, like being the league leaders from the first to the last week of the competition."
Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde has said the instability at the club has convinced him it is best to leave after they lost 4-3 at Sevilla on the final day of the La Liga season on Saturday and missed out on a Champions League place. Valencia had started the day in fourth place and in prime position to take the Champions League playoff place that came with the position, but their defeat and Real Sociedad's 1-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna saw them slip down to fifth.
Real Mallorca finished on a winning note but it was not enough to prevent them from being relegated to the Segunda Division on a tense final day in Spain as they beat Valladolid 4-2. The Balearic Island outfit came into the last round of fixtures bottom, needing a win over mid-table Real Valladolid and for results elsewhere to go their way if they were to avoid the drop. They did what they could by beating Valladolid in convincing fashion, but unfortunately for them Celta Vigo's victory over Espanyol meant the win was academic as they were consigned to the second tier.
Jose Mourinho ended his three-year spell in charge of Real Madrid with a 4-2 win over Osasuna at the Bernabeu. Mourinho pointedly applauded Real's 'ultras' at the end of the game and headed down the tunnel within 30 seconds of the final whistle. He released a statement before the match that said: "I wish all of Real Madrid's supporters much happiness in the future."
"I feel that my time here is over, I want a change," Higuain, who captained Madrid today, told reporters. "These seven years have been intense, hard, bright. It was a considered decision. It’s hard, it wasn’t easy, but I think I want to go to another club, new challenges. "I wish the club the best. No it is not because of the whistles, whilst the first time in seven years I heard them was against Borussia Dortmund."