Yokohama (Japan): Lionel Messi marked his return from illness with a brilliant goal as Barcelona beat Argentina&rsquo;s River Plate 3-0 to capture a record third Club World Cup yesterday.
<img title="FC Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta (centre) celebrates the Club World Cup win with his teammates in Yokohama yesterday. PIC/AFP" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/dec/FC-Barcelona.jpg" alt="FC Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta (centre) celebrates the Club World Cup win with his teammates in Yokohama yesterday. PIC/AFP" />FC Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta (centre) celebrates the Club World Cup win with his teammates in Yokohama yesterday. PIC/AFP
The Spanish giants welcomed back 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&rsquo;s hopes.
<img title="Luis Suarez" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/dec/Luis-Suarez.jpg" alt="Luis Suarez" /> Luis Suarez
&ldquo;We came here to win the title and it was important to get the job done,&rdquo; said Suarez, who picked up the player of the tournament and golden boot award after finishing with five goals.
&lsquo;We stayed calm&rsquo;
&ldquo;We stayed calm and played our game until Leo scored the first goal. More than my goals, it was just important to get our hands on the trophy.&rdquo;
Neymar, himself returning to the side after a groin strain, was instrumental in Barcelona&rsquo;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.
Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in Barca&rsquo;s 3-0 semi-final win over Guangzhou Evergrande, scored a second with a fierce low drive four minutes into the second half.
The former Liverpool striker grabbed his second of the night when he dispatched a thumping header past Barovero after a pinpoint cross from Neymar. River Plate&rsquo;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.
The Catalans, who had already collected the Champions League, Spain&rsquo;s La Liga, the Copa del Rey and European Super Cup this year, tore River to shreds in the second half. Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was a spectator for much of the game on a cold night but made an acrobatic save from River substitute Gonzalo Martinez seven minutes from time to deny the South Americans a consolation goal.
Messi, who forced a smart save from Barovero in the early skirmishes and could himself have finished with a hat-trick, became the first player to score in three finals after leading Barca to victory in 2009 and 2011.
&ldquo;Messi and Neymar wanted to play in the final, no matter what,&rdquo; said Suarez. &ldquo;It shows the sacrifice that there is in the group that they did everything to play.&rdquo; The Uruguayan warned that Barca were still hungry for more success.
&ldquo;After a competition like this the majority of teams have a dip,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But we have to avoid that and we have the desire to keep winning titles and be the best team in the world.&rdquo;

Uruguayan striker, whose brace helped Barcelona beat River Plate 3-0 in Yokohama to clinch their third consecutive club title, says the team is eager for more wins

Barcelona have the desire to be best in world: Luis Suarez

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Uruguayan striker, whose brace helped Barcelona beat River Plate 3-0 in Yokohama to clinch their third consecutive club title, says the team is eager for more wins

Barcelona have the desire to be best in world: Luis Suarez

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Barcelona have the desire to be best in world: Luis Suarez

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