MADRID: If it was a farewell, Andres Iniesta went out in style.

The veteran midfielder is expected to soon confirm he’s leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. He couldn’t have asked for a better way to say goodbye.

Iniesta scored amid a brilliant performance as Barca crushed Sevilla 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday, and became the first team in 85 years to win four straight Copa titles.

“It was a great night, for me and for the whole team,” Iniesta said. “There were a lot of strong emotions, a lot of different feelings. I’m happy to be able to help the team win this title.”

Despite a lifetime contract at Barca, the 33-year-old Iniesta has been linked to a move to Chinese football. He will reveal his decision in the next week.

Both Barca and Sevilla fans sang Iniesta’s name when he was substituted in the final stages, with the chants echoing around the Wanda Metropolitano stadium until after the final whistle.

“It’s a spectacle to watch Andres play,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. “He has to make a decision and see if he wants to come back next season.”

Luis Suarez scored twice and Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho also made the scoresheet for Barca’s record-extending 30th Copa triumph, and sixth in the last decade.

“We played a great match, with a lot of determination,” Valverde said.

Coutinho set up Suarez for the opening goal in the 14th minute and Barca dominated the rest of the game. The result goes some way to make up for their humiliating Champions League quarter-final elimination by AS Roma earlier in April.

Messi slammed home the second after good work from Jordi Alba with Suarez adding another, before Iniesta netted from a tight angle with only goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen absent from the 10-man huddle that engulfed the Spaniard following his shimmying goal.

By the time Coutinho converted his penalty in the 69th minute, Barca were simply sharing the goals around.

“This doesn’t cover up what happened in Rome but it’s an important title,” said Suarez. “At the start of the season we would have taken this, there’s huge merit to it. It’s strange to be knocked out of the Champions League, we gave the impression that we could go far in it.”

For Sevilla, defeat was always the most likely scenario but this was a whitewash.

Sitting eighth in La Liga, even Europa League qualification now looks an outside bet and there may be repercussions for coach Vincenzo Montella and some of his players in the summer.

“Barcelona has been superior in everything, they have extra-terrestrial players,” Montella said. “I’m very sorry for the fans who have been fantastic, sorry for the disappointments. I have seen crying in the dressing room but tomorrow, we have to work.”

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2018