Manager Pep Guardiola had special words of praise for the player who made his Nou Camp farewell memorable after Lionel Messi scored four goals in Barcelona's rout of Espanyol in the city derby.
About 89 thousand fans sang Guardiola's name and waved flags saying 'Thank you, Pep' during the game but it was the diminutive Argentine who put the icing on the cake to win a La Liga match with little riding on it 4-nil almost single-handedly.
Messi notched up his 50th league goal this season, moving five ahead of his nearest rival Cristiano Ronaldo with one match to play, and took his tally in all competitions this term to an astonishing 72.
The World Player of the Year had said he had been too upset to go and watch his coach give the news conference where he said he was leaving the club a week ago, but repaid Guardiola in his own way.
Guardiola has one more away game in La Liga as boss, and a chance to win a 14th trophy in his fourth season, when Barca take on Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final in Madrid on May 25th.
His close friend and assistant Tito Vilanova will replace him next season, with Guardiola saying he needed time out to recharge his batteries.
