Messi hits 50 goals for Barcelona, Real Madrid ends season to forget

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Lionel Messi scored twice to hit the 50-goal mark for the sixth time in his career on Sunday while Real Madrid put a fittingly poor ending to its worst season in recent memory after losing in the final round of the Spanish league.

Messi scored his 49th and 50th goals in all competitions this season to give Barcelona a 2-2 draw at Eibar and finished as the league's top scorer with 36 goals for the Spanish champions.

This is the sixth season Messi has finished as the top La Liga scorer, equaling a record held by Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra from the 1950s.

Leo Messi equals Telmo Zarra as the player with the most Pichichi (top scorer) awards. /Barcelona Official Website

Barcelona, which had clinched the league title with three rounds to play, will now look to also retain the Copa del Rey title next weekend when it faces Valencia. Its chance of a rare treble of major titles was ended by Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals.

Barcelona won the league with 11 points more than second-place Atletico Madrid. It also finished 19 points ahead of Madrid, the biggest-ever points advantage by Barcelona over its fiercest rival.

"We were very consistent all season long and that's what allowed us to win the league by such a comfortable margin," Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.

Real Madrid's harrowing season came to a miserable end on May 19 as they slumped to a staggering 12th La Liga defeat. /VCG Photo

Jeers for Madrid

Madrid endured the jeers of its own frustrated fans after a 2-0 loss to Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Most of Madrid's supporters have long placed their hopes on what changes the club will make to an underperforming squad in the summer.

Not even coach Zinedine Zidane could find a saving grace to the campaign.

"It isn't that we don't want to (play better), we aren't able to," Zidane said. "The best thing is for this to be over. We are already thinking about the future and next season."

Madrid entered the match with nothing to play for, locked into a third-place finish for the second consecutive season for the first time since 1974.

Since the return of Zidane to take charge of the club after its shock loss to Ajax in the round of 16 in the Champions League, Madrid has finished the campaign with a record of five wins, two draws and four losses.

"The fault is ours," Madrid defender Marcelo said. "We didn't start well and we didn't finish it well either. In no way was this the season we wanted to have."

Gareth Bale is not even given the chance to say a likely goodbye as he sits on the bench the whole game against Real Betis at Bernabeu on May 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Bale left on the bench

Spanish media reports also say that Bale will not be at the club next season, but the Wales forward, who was left out of the squad for last week's defeat at Real Sociedad, was given no opportunity for a final run out at the Bernabeu.

Madrid's record signing and a scorer in two Champions League final triumphs, Bale was seen grimacing as he sat on the bench when his side were 2-0 down and when the fulltime whistle came he walked straight down the tunnel without acknowledging fans.

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane would not be drawn on whether Navas or Bale would leave the club, but said players' futures could not dictate whether or not he picked them.

"I don't know if it's the last game for them or not, I don't know what's going to happen. Keylor played well but we'll see what happens next season," he said.

Asked about whether Bale deserved a chance to play one last game, he said: "I'm sorry he didn't get to play, but no-one knows what will happen.

"If I think a player doesn't fit in the team, I have to do what I think works best. No-one can change what Bale has done for the team, but as a coach I have to live in the present."

Source(s): AP ,Reuters