Mezni Magubane
The Luis Suarez was the hero of the day after leading Atletico Madrid to their first Spanish La Liga title since 2014.
The Uruguayan scored the winner for Atletico, who showed resilience to come back from a goal down to snatch a 2-1 victory on a final-day over Real Valladolid on Saturday.
The victory saw them edge out their town rivals Real Madrid to snatch the title by two points. Madrid ended in second place as they surrendered the crown they seized in last year’s campaign and have ended the season trophyless.
This was Suarez’s first trophy with Atletico and his fifth La Liga title. He joined them this season after he was sold by Barcelona.
The 34 year old finished top goal scorer for Atletico with 21 league goals. He was left nine goals short of the tally of his friend and former teammate Lionel Messi, topping the La Liga goalscoring chart with 30 goals.
His shocking departure from Barca is thought to be a factor which led to Messi’s refusal to sign a new contract with the club.
He had a huge public fallout with the hierarchy of the club after questioning Saurez’s departure, and he was subsequently linked with a move to Manchester City, with his former boss Pep Guardiola keen to take advantage of the legendary forward’s discontent.
After leaving Barca, Suarez was quoted saying: “Barcelona didn’t value me and Atletico opened doors for me. For that, I will forever be grateful to this club for trusting me.”
Saurez’s performances this season for Atletico have undoubtedly proved Barcelona wrong, who sold him because he was “old” and apparently surplus to requirements.
Barcelona ended the season in third place.
Meanwhile, other champions from the other elite European leagues include Inter Milan, who ended Juventus’s nine-year dominance after clinching the Serie A title.
In Germany, Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga title on Saturday. They have lifted the league trophy for the record ninth consecutive year.
In England, Manchester City were officially crowned English Premier League champions on Sunday. The Citizens were already champions before the last day of the season on Sunday.
Picture source:@atleticomadrid
