THE SUN ——— Barcelona, The Spanish giants welcomed back leo Messi after a bout of kidney stones and the mercurial Argentine scored with a clinical finish on 36 minutes, before a lethal Luis Suarez double destroyed River’s hopes in a spiky Yokohama final.
“We came here to win the title and it was important to get the job done,” said the prolific Suarez, who picked up the player of the tournament and golden boot awards after finishing with five goals.
“Leo’s goal opened up the game and in the second half we controlled things and had more chances,” added the Uruguayan, who has struck 24 goals in 24 games this season, including 17 in his last 11.
Neymar, himself returning to the side after a groin strain, was instrumental in Barcelona’s opener, climbing to knock down a Dani Alves cross for Messi to steer past River goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero with a deft flick of his left boot.
River Plate’s starting eleven cost a total of some six million dollars while Barcelona paid $85 million for Suarez alone, and the gulf in class showed.
