The Catalans took the lead after 29 minutes as Betis defender Heiko Westermann inadvertently sent the ball into his own net after Neymar had hit the crossbar from the penalty spot and moments later the Brazilian laid a pass on for Messi to score on a landmark appearance for the club.

Leo Messi makes 500th appearance with @FCBarcelona 'Like' to congratulate him! #Messi500 https://t.co/l9OpzzEvWS

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 30, 2015

Suarez added two further goals in the second half, while Neymar was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet, hitting the woodwork for a second time later on.

Luis Enrique’s side stay joint top of the Primera Division with Atletico Madrid heading into 2016 but have played one game fewer than Diego Simeone’s men.

Although Pepe Mel’s visitors made an ambitious start to the game, once Messi had tapped in the second goal the game as a contest was all but over and the serene manner in which Barcelona ended the year, five trophies better off, could not have contrasted greater than with how they started it.

[CLUB] The figure of Patrick O'Connell honoured at FC Barcelona v Betis https://t.co/NGs8PuDM2c pic.twitter.com/7Dk3c2FqJo

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 30, 2015

Barca’s year began on a rainy and windswept night in San Sebastian against David Moyes’ Real Sociedad, with Neymar and Messi sitting on the bench as they fell behind to an own goal by Jordi Alba.

That 1-0 defeat lead to president Josep Maria Bartomeu calling elections a year ahead of schedule and also saw sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta sacked, while the fallout from Luis Enrique’s decision to start the game without Messi also threatened to bring the coach’s tenure to a swift conclusion.

But thanks to the combined talents and understanding of their attacking trident, Barca brushed their problems aside to win the Primera Division, Copa del Rey, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup, adding the FIFA Club World Cup to their trophy cabinet before Christmas with a classy 3-0 victory over River Plate.

Luis Enrique made three changes from the team that conquered the world in Yokohama, resting Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Alba and replacing them with Jeremy Mathieu, Thomas Vermaelen and Sergi Roberto, but the usual front three remained untouched.

Betis made a promising start and talented teenager Dani Ceballos gave the hosts a fright when he raced into the area and could only be stopped by a well-timed challenge by Dani Alves.

But the Andalusians were undone by a controversial decision to award Barcelona a penalty after an untimely collision between goalkeeper Antonio Adan and Messi. Adan punched a cross away from goal and clashed with the Argentinian after making contact with the ball and referee Inaki Vicandi Garrido baffled the Betis players by pointing to the spot.

Both players were affected by the impact of the collision but Messi came off worse and was unable to take the penalty.

Neymar took responsibility instead but slipped as he went to strike the ball, which hit the crossbar but rebounded into the net off the boot of Westermann, who had tried to prevent Ivan Rakitic from getting to the loose ball.

To the relief of the Nou Camp faithful, Messi got back onto the pitch and immediately combined with Neymar, playing a one-two and then heading into the box to nudge the Brazilian’s squared pass into an empty net.

Betis were all but out of the game at this point and Barcelona went on to dominate what remained of it. Sergio Busquets recovered the ball high up the pitch and quickly gave it to Suarez who calmly struck past Adan.

Neymar, Alves and then Messi each hit the woodwork as Barca looked to twist the knife, and with seven minutes left Suarez got the fourth goal, starting the move then latching on to Neymar’s back-heel to stab home from close range.