But Luis Enrique belatedly added to the sizeable haul of medals collected in his first two years in charge as Messi showed his class in the last game to be played at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon.
Having scraped past Atleti 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals in February, with Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez both sent off, Barca looked in for a similarly nervy contest as Alaves started well and Theo Hernandez then equalised Messi's opener.
The Basque side had stunned Barca with a 2-1 league success at Camp Nou in September, but this game threatened to bear greater resemblance to a 6-0 away triumph in the reverse fixture as Neymar scored the next goal and Messi teed up Paco Alcacer to put Barca out of sight.
Although Alaves kept the score down after the break, they rarely looked likely to trouble the commanding lead built by Messi and Barca, who will now turn their focus to a board meeting on Monday, after which the club are set to announce Luis Enrique's replacement. 
Javier Mascherano was stretchered off after an early clash of heads with Marcos Llorente and, although that collision did not constitute a foul in the eyes of the referee, Alaves' combative approach could have seen Edgar Mendez punished with more than a yellow card when he trod on Samuel Umtiti's leg. Messi drilled a set-piece of his own straight at Pacheco and Ivan Rakitic drove wide, before Luis Enrique's men accelerated out of sight in the closing minutes of the first half.
Neymar turned Andre Gomes' low centre across the line to restore his side's lead and Messi's terrific close control then created space for Paco Alcacer - starting in place of the suspended Suarez - to coolly finish beyond Pacheco for a third Barca goal.
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