Barcelona clinched their second straight Spanish league title when second-place Valencia lost to Mallorca 2-1.

Barcelona players went on to defeat Celta Vigo 1-0 courtesy of a Samuel Eto’o goal in the 55th minute.

Barca boss Frank Rijkaard believes this season’s success surpasses last year’s triumph.

“Before starting the season the prime objective of this team was to retain the league title and they’ve done that,” said Rijkaard after Barca’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo.

“This second title is confirmation of this team’s ability.

“They say it’s always more difficult to stay at the top than to get there … and that makes this an even greater achievement.

“We can now enjoy ourselves a little before getting back to work.”

World Player of the Year Ronaldinho admitted he was delighted with another title.

“This is great, it’s time to enjoy the moment and celebrate,” he said.

“I’m going to be celebrating as much as I can over the next few days. This is great for the club, the team and the fans.”

Samuel Eto’o’s strke was his 25th of the season.

“It was a beautiful goal to score, but it was even more beautiful to be crowned champions,” said the Cameroon striker.

“The coaching staff and the players have been doing a great job for the past three years and the players like me who joined two seasons ago came to a great team and we’ve done our bit too.”

The club’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain said the team were on course to match the Johan Cruyff’s side which won four successive league titles and the European Cup in the 1990s.

“Winning the league twice in a row is an indication of the way this team is evolving and developing and could signal the beginning of a new era at the club,” he told reporters.

“If the team wins the Champions League then they can be compared to the ‘dream team’.”

Barcelona meet Arsenal in the European Champions League final on May 17.

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