An evening not soon to be forgotten at the Jan Breydel Stadium. Club closed the season with a convincing 5-0 victory against KAA Gent. Read all the reactions afterwards here.
Joaquin Seys: "It's fantastic to close like this"
Joaquin Seys enjoyed the match, but is already looking ahead towards the World Cup. "It's fantastic to finish like this. It was also very important for Simon to finish with that clean sheet. That we can now celebrate it together with the fans makes it a fantastic day. I think Simon more than earned that badge of honor. It was the least we could do for him. We hope we can still support him in the rest of his career and I hope he can enjoy it fully now."
"For me, the season is not over yet. I hope to continue my form to the World Cup. I don't want to go to America just to be there, but really want to contribute, to the extent possible. Whether that's five minutes or starting every match, we'll see. I'm just going to give my best."
"Tonight we're just going to enjoy it and tomorrow we're going to enjoy it again with the fans in town. After that, it's time for a few days of rest and then towards the World Cup."
Simon Mignolet: "Thank you to everyone who organized this"
Big Si experienced an incredible day. "To experience those last moments of your career, it was an ideal scenario to be able to play that match like that. It was an exceptional moment, I can only say thank you to everyone who organized it. Then you also have to play that match yourself and in the end I am quite satisfied with my own match and the 5-0 victory. I was able to experience it very consciously the past few training days, although it wasn't so obvious because I went through my knee last week. In the end, fortunately, that worked out well. When you walk around the training field alone and you think about it, it comes in. Then it is extra nice to be able to say goodbye in such a way. If you had dared to predict that I would have such a great career, I probably wouldn't have believed it. I'm very grateful for it; I never would have dared to dream it that way."
Bob Madou: "You can't imagine more beautiful than this match."
"Glad it had already happened Thursday for the championship, then you hope it will be a beautiful Sunday for everyone who deserves it. Nicer than this match you simply cannot imagine. We were able to show our soccer today, it's simply beautiful. Tomorrow we will first celebrate at the market, because we really have something very cool with our second star. After that, we can think about possible transfers."
Christos Tzolis: "We end the season the way we deserve
"It was a great season with an incredible apotheosis today," Christos Tzolis began. "I am very proud of our close-knit team and happy that we were able to become champions like this. We ended the season the way we deserved. We played well today, but we remain hungry for next year. Nice for Nicolò for becoming top shooter, because he deserves it, has also played an excellent season.
Cisse Sandra: "We can be very proud"
"We can be very proud, it's very nice to finish the season 5-0 in such a nice way and to be able to celebrate this with the fans. It's still not obvious to finish like this today when you only became champions on Thursday, but we did it anyway."
Brandon Mechele: "This day couldn't have gone better."
"How beautiful is this? It was a beautiful gala match that we won relatively easily. The 7th time champion is obviously fantastic and then to be able to end the season so nicely. It was a special and emotional match anyway for Simon and other players who may be leaving, but it really couldn't have gone any better. Simon did his utmost to prepare as well as possible, but actually playing that match is very emotional. We will certainly miss him next year. He has more than done his bit in recent years with several titles and then it is wonderful that we were able to give him a nice and well-deserved farewell."
For Mechele, of course, a first World Cup is also coming up. "It was always a dream to experience a big tournament and I didn't expect it anymore, honestly. It will be a great summer, also with the baby coming. I've reached a consistent level the past few seasons and I'm just very happy with that to be rewarded in such a way."
Hans Vanaken: "This was the farewell Simon deserved"
"It was the perfect afternoon, it did do me some good to go off the field myself and for everyone to be on the benches. The appreciation is mutual and also those moments with Simon were emotional, that does touch me. I might be the next one after Simon who can experience that like that and then you see yourself already standing and you can have a hard time. It is more than deserved for Simon for what he has brought to this place. He deserves a nice farewell. We still connected the dots, even with this match, as a fitting finale for him, that was the biggest motivation we had for the match today.