Real Madrid's dreadful end to the season continued on Sunday when they lost their final match 4-1 at home to Real Sociedad to finish in fourth place and will now have to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
Manchester United, who lost their premier league title to unbeaten Arsenal, made sure they ended the season with a trophy as they enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 FA Cup final victory over first division Millwall.
Olympique Lyon joined Olympique Marseille and St Etienne in the record books after clinching their third consecutive French league title with a 3-0 win at home to Lille.
Outgoing German title holders Bayern Munich secured a Champions League qualifying spot with a 2-0 victory over SC Freiburg in their final Bundesliga game under coach Ottmar Hitzfeld to finish runners-up behind Werder Bremen.
In Spain, Barcelona finished runners-up behind champions Valencia despite a 2-1 defeat at Real Zaragoza as Real Madrid's slide continued.
With Deportivo Coruna winning 1-0 at Racing Santander on the final day of the season, Real were condemned to a fourth-place finish after suffering a record fifth defeat in a row.
UEFA Cup winners Valencia, who lost 1-0 at home to Albacete, finished with 77 points, while Barca are five behind on 72, one ahead of Depor and two clear of Real. Sevilla joined Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 win at home to Osasuna.
At the other end, Espanyol preserved their top-flight status with a 2-0 win at home to already relegated Murcia, a result that sent Celta Vigo and Valladolid into the second division.
RECORD WIN
Manchester United fought off a brave but ultimately toothless challenge from the south London lions of Millwall to lift the FA Cup for a record 11th time on Saturday.
A header from Portuguese teenager Cristiano Ronaldo and two goals from Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy, including a penalty, gave United a deserved victory at the Millennium Stadium.
Millwall's consolation from a match in which they were never able to bridge the gulf in class, is a UEFA Cup place.
Their substitute Curtis Weston, at 17 years and 119 days old, became the youngest player to appear in the Cup final, breaking a record set in 1879 by James Prinsep who turned out for Clapham Rovers aged 17 years and 245 days old.
United captain Roy Keane became the first player of modern times to play in six finals, the second highest on record, while keeper Tim Howard became the first American to win the Cup.
Lyon celebrated the title with goals from striker Sidney Govou, midfielder Mahamadou Diarra and Peguy Luyindula giving them a comfortable victory over Lille.
Paris St Germain secured a direct Champions League place for the first time since the 2000-2001 season thanks to a 1-0 win at Bastia, striker Pedro Pauleta scoring the winner.
Lyon finished with 79 points, three ahead of PSG and a further point in front of Monaco, who will have to negotiate the final Champions League qualifying round unless they beat Portuguese champions Porto in Wednesday's final.
AJ Auxerre and Sochaux will play in the UEFA Cup after they finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Montpellier, already relegated, crashed 4-0 at Stade Rennes and are joined in Ligue 2 by En Avant Guingamp and Le Mans.
EMPTY HANDED
In Germany, Bayern finished empty handed and Hitzfeld will be replaced by Felix Magath, who will join from VfB Stuttgart.
"We took the game seriously and did what we had to," he said fighting back tears as he was handed flowers before the kickoff. "Overall I had a great time at Bayern."
Werder, who sealed their fourth crown with two games to spare, signed off with a 3-1 defeat at Hansa Rostock.
The northerners will now chase their first domestic double when they play second division Alemannia Aachen in the German Cup final next Saturday in Berlin.
Bayer Leverkusen snatched third place and a ticket to the Champions League qualifying round with a 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart, who have to be content with a UEFA Cup spot along with modest VfL Bochum.
TSV 1860 Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt were relegated after defeats and join bottom club Cologne.
Those teams will be replaced by FSV Mainz, who will play in the Bundesliga for the first time after winning promotion with a 3-0 win over Eintracht Trier in the final round of matches.
Mainz finish third behind Nuremberg and Arminia Bielefeld.
