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Published 13:10 IST, December 2nd 2020

Barcelona SLAMMED for celebrating Twitter engagement record after Messi's Maradona tribute

Barcelona faced severe backlash on Twitter after the club's official Twitter account boasted that their original post 'broke records on social media.'

Reported by: Sreehari Menon
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Argentine legend Diego Maradona passed away last week after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest at his Buenos Aires home. The 1986 World Cup sensation is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport and had a stellar career where he played for the likes of Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona. The Blaugrana were among the many to pay tribute to the late 60-year-old, and their social media broke records after the gesture. 

Also Read: Diego Maradona Death: Messi And Ronaldo Pay Heartfelt Tribute To Argentine World Cup Winner

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Barcelona's Maradona tribute breaks traffic records, club deletes social media post after backlash 

Within 24 hours of their 4-0 thumping of Osasuna, where Barcelona and Messi paid tribute to Diego Maradona, the club's social media broke multiple records. The picture of captain Lionel Messi's celebration, where he sported Maradona's No.10 on a Newell's Old Boys shirt, received the third most likes in the history of FC Barcelona's Instagram account and created 20 million interactions in just one day on the Club's channel. Barcelona's Spanish and English Twitter accounts generated more than 1.4 million interactions respectively. The Messi celebration photo recorded 180,000 likes, the second-highest in 2020, only behind the announcement of the death of Diego Maradona.

Also Read: Barcelona To Use Real Madrid Precedent To Appeal Messi's Yellow Card For Maradona Tribute

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Barcelona's YouTube and Facebook channels also enjoyed a fair share of interactions, also breaking several club engagement records. It is worth noting that the Blaugrana have generated most interactions on social media for the past three seasons, ahead of the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid according to Blinkfire. However, Barcelona faced massive backlash from their followers who slammed the club for celebrating record numbers with reference to Maradona's death. Many fans called the club's antics embarrassing asking the social media team to delete the post to save them from further embarrassment.

Also Read: Maradona Was Left Alone For 3 Days Despite Falling Over And Hitting His Head, Claims Nurse

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Furthermore, the LaLiga giants could be hit with a reported €3000 fine for Messi's Maradona tribute, to do with taking off his shirt to reveal the Newell's kit underneath. Newell's fan Messi kissed his hands and pointed to the sky, recreating an image of Maradona in his brief spell at the Argentine outfit. The Barcelona captain was booked for his celebration, as FIFA's laws state that a player who removes his jersey after scoring a goal will be cautioned for unsporting behaviour.

Also Read: Messi Pays Epic Tribute To Maradona With Newells' Old Boys Shirt, Fans Laud Barca Icon

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(Image Courtesy: FC Barcelona Twitter)

13:10 IST, December 2nd 2020