In the end, Barcelona simply had to hold up their hands and concede they’d been beaten by the better team this season.
Real Madrid finished five points clear of their second-place rivals at the top of La Liga, wrapping up their 34th title in the process.
On the night Madrid were crowned champions, Barça slumped to a shock 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Osasuna - and Lionel Messi wasn’t afraid to voice his frustrations after the final whistle.
"All season we have been a very weak team, beaten for intensity, for motivation, people can score against us very easy, we lost many points where we shouldn’t lose them,” he told reporters. “This game has just summed up how our season has been.
"To fight for the Champions League we will have to change so much or we will lose against Napoli too.
"Fans must be very angry at how this whole season has gone, that is normal, we are too, it’s logical. We were also coming from defeats at Roma, Liverpool, people don’t have patience, and it’s normal, considering everything."
Messi - who, according to reports, could potentially leave Camp Nou next summer unless things improve - wants the club’s hierarchy to bring in players who can help Barça win both La Liga and, perhaps even more crucially, the Champions League.
The Catalan club haven’t lifted the European Cup since 2015. Real Madrid have won the competition three times since then, taking their overall total to a record-breaking 13.
According to a new report from Marca, Barcelona have now put 12 players on the transfer market as they attempt to overhaul the squad.
Their main summer target is Lautaro Martinez, but raising funds for the Inter Milan forward and several others will involve offloading numerous players on their unwanted list.
Let’s take a closer look at the 12 players Barcelona want to sell…
Neto
Barcelona’s back-up goalkeeper, who arrived at Camp Nou last summer from Valencia in a deal worth an initial €26 million, only made two league appearances this season.
Nelson Semedo
After three years at Camp Nou, Barça are now prepared to sell the Portuguese right-back.
Samuel Umtiti
The French centre-back only made 13 La Liga appearances for the team this season, mainly due to injuries.
Junior Firpo
Junior Firpo joined Barcelona from Real Betis last summer for €18 million but hasn’t provided Jordi Alba with the stiff competition the club were hoping for.
Ivan Rakitic
Ivan Rakitic is 32 now and it seems his best days are behind him. That said, there will surely be one or two top clubs keen on signing the Croatian midfielder ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
Arturo Vidal
Another ageing star name, the 33-year-old is a decent squad player but little more these days.
Ousmane Dembele
Limited to just five appearances this season due to injury, the 23-year-old French winger is a huge talent but things just haven’t worked out for him at Barça.
Martin Braithwaite
It was a shock when Barcelona signed Martin Braithwaite in February but the Danish striker deserves credit for injecting some much-needed energy into the team whenever he’s featured.
Carles Alena
The Spain Under-21 international spent the second half of the season with Real Betis.
Rafinha Alcantara
After two loan spells with Celta and another with Inter over the past seven years, it seems this will be the summer Barcelona finally offload Rafinha.
Jean-Clair Todibo
The 20-year-old centre-back has been on loan at Schalke, but his parent club are now willing to listen to offers.
Philippe Coutinho
And finally, it’s the club’s most expensive signing, Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian scored nine goals and provided eight assists in 34 games for Bayern Munich this season, but Barcelona are keen to recoup some of the £142 million they paid for him in January 2018.
A return to the Premier League remains a possibility for the former Liverpool star.
