Sports Desk
Barcelona: Angry Barcelona fans chanted for the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu after captain Lionel Messi announced on Tuesday that he wished to leave the Catalan side.
“We love you, Messi stay, Messi stay!” and “Bartomeu resign!” chanted several hundred fans outside Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium on Tuesday night.
“I am very upset, for me Barca is Messi and Messi is Barca. They are the same, he is the symbol of Barca … They should erect a monument in Camp Nou. I don’t think this (departure) should be allowed to happen,” 80-year-old Joana Polo, wearing a Barcelona face mask, told Reuters on Wednesday outside Camp Nou.
Read also: Messi tells Barca he wants to leave club, reports Argentine network Tyc
The decision by the Argentine forward has thrown the club into turmoil less than two weeks after their humiliating 8-2 Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich.
“It’s a huge outrage. I never thought this would ever happen … you can take defeats in sports but I can’t handle Messi leaving,” said Oriol, 40. “We will defend him until death. He is not the one to blame.