Furious Barcelona fans have lashed out at Lionel Messi after the former Nou Camp favourite 'liked' a post made by Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez in midweek.
Martinez was on target in the enthralling 3-3 draw between the two sides on Wednesday night. Robert Lewandowski grabbed a last-gasp leveller for Barcelona just minutes after Robin Gosens had fired Inter into an 89th minute lead - but the result still leaves the Spanish giants on the brink of elimination from the Champions League.
And eagle-eyed Barca fans have reacted angrily after spotting Messi's reaction to an Instagram post made by Martinez in the aftermath of their latest European catastrophe.
Messi, who plays alongside Martinez for the Argentina national team, liked a post from his compatriot after the Inter star wrote: "Heart , Personality , Humility" and "Forza Inter" on his page.
But Messi's innocent act has sparked a furious reaction from disgruntled Barcelona fans as they face up to the consequences of another disappointing campaign in Europe. Xavi Hernandez's side will drop into the Europa League if Inter beat bottom side Viktoria Plzen in a fortnights time.
And that could could have major financial repercussions for the club, who budgeted to reach the last-16 of the competition after spending significant sums to rebuild their beleaguered squad in the summer.
Barcelona would miss out on a staggering €21million (£18.1m) if they crash out of Europe's elite competition at the group stage for a second consecutive year.
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In the wake of their latest disappointing result, the Spanish press gave a ruthless assessment of Xavi's side, branding them "a Europa League" outfit in the absence of Messi, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain last summer. The Argentine superstar has been linked with a sensational return to the Nou Camp, however, fresh reports this week have claimed that a deal to bring Messi back to the club is 'improbable'.
And Xavi also gave a scathing assessment of Barcelona's current plight after Wednesday night's defeat, where he insisted that the club "don't deserve" to play in the Champions League right now.
"I'm very disappointed, sad, frustrated, I'm angry," the Barcelona chief declared after the final whistle. "I have to be self-critical, we don't deserve to play in the Champions League.
"It hurts me, but it's the truth. I apologise to the fans because we made the mistakes, we had set our minds not to fail, and we have failed, so we have to apologise to the fans, who have been wonderful. I want to tell them that we will work to turn this situation around and win titles."
