Barcelona fans insult PSG chief on arrival in Catalunya, chant ‘Leave Messi Alone, Thief!'

Barcelona play host to PSG in the first leg of the UCL last 16 on Tuesday and the Blaugrana faithful haven't made PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi feel welcome on his arrival at the Catalan capital. The Barcelona supporters gathered in numbers as Al-Khelaifi arrived at the team's hotel before hurling insults at the PSG chief, with some left furious over the French club's public pursuit of Lionel Messi. The Ligue 1 giants have been vocal in their pursuit of securing a move for the Barcelona icon, whose contract with the club expires in the summer. 

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PSG chief receives hostile reception from Barcelona supporters 

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi appears to be public enemy number one for Barcelona supporters at the moment. As soon as the Qatari businessman arrived at his team's hotel in Catalunya on Monday, the Barcelona fans let him know exactly what their thoughts were on PSG's links with Messi. Members from the crowd hurled insults at Al-Khelaifi before one was heard saying, "Leave Messi alone" while another shouted, "You are a thief!" 

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Al-Khelaifi, as the French club's president, was instrumental in PSG's pursuit of Neymar away from Barcelona in 2017. At the time, PSG famously split up Barcelona’s magical trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar by buying the Brazilian for a world record fee of €222m. Now with the French giants again being linked with the club's all-time top goalscorer in Lionel Messi, some Barcelona fans took the opportunity to express what they felt about Al-Khelaifi ahead of PSG's showdown against Barcelona.

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Lionel Messi transfer news: PSG express interest in signing Messi on free

Only a few weeks ago, French news outlet France Football photoshopped Lionel Messi's face on a PSG jersey on the front cover of their magazine fuelling rumours of a potential transfer. Messi, on the other hand, is yet to sign a contract extension with Barcelona, as his current deal expires in the summer. Messi opted to remain at the Camp Nou in a bid to see off his final year at the club despite handing in his transfer request last summer. 

PSG sporting director, Leonardo Araujo, had previously claimed that the Ligue 1 club are monitoring Messi's situation at Barcelona. The reigning French champions are also one of the few clubs in Europe that can afford Messi's mammoth wages. 

Champions League live stream: Where to watch Barcelona vs PSG?

In India, the game will broadcast live on Sony Ten 2 SD & HD (Wednesday, February 17 at 1:30 AM IST). The Barcelona vs PSG live stream will be available on the SonyLIV app and website. Live scores and updates from the game will be available on the Twitter handles of both teams. 

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Image Credits - AP