Players who inspired Barcelona

Barcelona won their 25th La Liga title on Sunday with four games to spare. Here’s a look at the three key players behind their latest league triumph:

Andres Iniesta

Iniesta will bid farewell to Barcelona after 22 years with a La Liga-Copa del Rey double. He joined the club when he was 12. He has been the brain of the team on the field and a figure of calm off it in a season when coach Ernesto Valverde managed the midfielder's minutes carefully. Iniesta was again the soul of the team managing a midfield which lost Neymar to PSG at the start of the season.

Lionel Messi

Of course, the Argentinian striker, top scorer in the league with 32 goals, led from the front and, at times, dragged his team to victories they did not deserve. Messi has often played through spells in matches like a central midfielder and also scored the goal which all but settled the title race, his bending free-kick against Atletico Madrid in March securing a pivotal 1-0 win.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Barcelona's ascendancy has more often been based on resilience and defensive discipline, and at the heart has been ter Stegen. Barca have conceded the second fewest goals in the league, after Atletico, and their German keeper has managed 18 clean sheets in the 34 games. Ter Stegen is now one of the finest in the world.