Two Spanish giants bid farewell to their boyhood clubs on Sunday as Andres Iniesta waved goodbye to Barcelona and Fernando Torres went out with a bang at Aletico Madrid.
Torres scored twice on his final appearance for Atletico, even if a Lucas Hernandez red card helped Eibar claim a 2-2 draw on the last day of the La Liga season.
Iniesta’s 22-year association with Barcelona, meanwhile, ended with a victory as the player marked out as the Spaniard’s successor, Philippe Coutinho, proved the difference in a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad.
With a tear in his eye, Iniesta walked off to a standing ovation from the Camp Nou in the second half, having unfastened his captain’s armband and handed it to Lionel Messi.
He hugged the Argentinian and then embraced the rest of his colleagues. The 34-year-old clapped the crowd, blew them a kiss, before exhaling and ducking into the dug-out.
An extravagent post-match ceremony followed, celebrating both Iniesta and the winning of La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Barca’s players returned to the pitch all wearing shirts with Iniesta’s name on their backs.
Fans pay tribute to Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta before the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 20, 2018.
404th appearance for Atletico
Torres’ swansong was less emotional, perhaps because his fairytale ending had already arrived on Wednesday, when he lifted his first Atleti trophy after the Europa League final against Marseille.
But his double against Eibar added some extra sparkle in front of his own supporters, who stayed on after the final whistle to watch the team form another guard of honour as the striker left the pitch.
On his 404th appearance for Atletico, Torres’ goals were his 128th and 129th for the club, coming 17 years after his first, scored against Albacete in the Segunda Division in 2001.
Inter Milan snatched the final Champions League berth with a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over direct European rival Lazio on the final day of the season at the Stadio Olimpico in a late game on Sunday.
Inter had to win in order to overtake Lazio which had a superior head-to-head record and needed just to draw.
“I thank the whole Atletico family. I knew I wanted to play here and it has been an honour to wear this shirt more than 400 times” - Fernando Torres
“It is a difficult day. But it has been a wonderful 22 years. It has been a privilege and a pleasure” - Andres Iniesta
The results: La Liga: Valencia 2 (Zaza 28, Guedes 77) bt Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Perez 80); Athletic Bilbao 0 lost to Espanyol 1 (Lopez 9); Atletico Madrid 2 (Torres 42, 60) drew with Eibar 2 (Garcia 35, Pena 70); Barcelona 1 (Coutinho 57) bt Real Sociedad 0.
Serie A: Sassuolo 0 lost to Roma 1 (Pegolo 45-og); Lazio 2 (Perisic 9-og, Anderson 41) lost to Inter Milan 3 (D’Ambrosio 29, Icardi 78-pen, Vecino 81).
