The Catalan side dominated for the majority of the first half but took until the 65th minute to open the scoring and clinch the three points needed to seal their 23rd Spanish title with a game to go.
Barca had goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to thank for holding the hosts at bay as they held on in the second half, where efforts from Messi and Neymar could have doubled their margin of victory.
A hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo in a 4-1 win at Espanyol could not keep Real Madrid in the title race.
Ronaldo did his bit, with three more goals taking his league tally for the season to 45, but the task was out of their hands.
Vicente Iborra scored twice in the space of five minutes to give Sevilla a 2-1 win over 10-man Almeria and all but condemn the visitors to relegation.
Thievy Bifouma had given Sergi Barjuan's side the lead in the first half but their hard work was undone in the second half by Iborra's deadly strikes from inside the area, and their task was made even harder as Angel Trujillo was sent off with 15 minutes remaining.
Sevilla move to just one point behind Valencia in the race for fourth spot thanks to this win, but Almeria drop from 16th to 19th and now need a miracle to avoid relegation. They must beat Valencia next week and hope other results also go their way.
Valencia came from behind to earn a draw with Celta Vigo that keeps them fourth with a week of the season to go.
Visitors Celta, safe from relegation and playing without pressure, took an eighth-minute lead through Pablo Hernandez, but Nicolas Otamendi's equaliser was the least Los Che deserved.
With Sevilla winning, it was an important result for Valencia who are a point ahead of the Andalusian side in the race for a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
Eibar ended a run of six straight defeats in the nick of time as they kept their survival hopes alive by coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Getafe.
Borja netted the equaliser after 36 minutes to cancel out Fredy Hinestroza's opener just three minutes earlier and earn his side their first point since early April.
The draw kept the visitors in the bottom three, but they are only two points from safety and know a win in their final game of the season at home to relegated Cordoba could keep them up.
Granada's incredible turnaround under Jose Ramon Sandoval continued as they beat Real Sociedad 3-0 to move out of the relegation zone.
Youssef El Arabi broke the deadlock at Anoeta in the 73rd minute from a quick counter and Robert Ibanez appeared to wrap up the victory four minutes later.
However, there was still time for Ruben Rochina to score a spectacular third goal from just beyond the halfway line, inflicting the heaviest home defeat of the season on David Moyes' side.
Rayo Vallecano's hopes of qualifying for the Europa League are effectively over despite completing a 2-1 victory at relegated Cordoba.
Rayo climbed into 10th place when Adrian Embarba pounced with a 79th-minute winner at the Nuevo Arcangel.
The Madrid club took the lead in the 22nd minute through Raul Baena, but Cordoba equalised early in the second half when Luso found the back of the net.
Malaga's European hopes suffered a blow with a 2-1 loss at Villarreal.
Substitute Gerard Moreno scored twice in the final eight minutes for the hosts and though Sergi Darder pulled one back in injury time, there was no way back for Malaga, who dropped to eighth in the table as Athletic Bilbao staged a late rally to win 3-2 at Elche.
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