Messi declared dead

International Sports

Barcelona star Lionel Messi was mistakenly declared dead by a US website.FOOTBALL fans were in shock today when an American-owned website mistakenly announced that Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi had died.

Fox Sports posted a message on their Latin American Twitter site declaring that the 24-year-old has suffered a 'cardiopulmonary arrest' during training.

"We announce the sad news that Lionel Messi died of cardiopulmonary arrest during training," read the message when translated from Spanish to English.

A 'hashtag' stating "#RIP Messi" was also included with the post.

But fans were glad to hear that the report was false and the Argentine international was still very much alive.

The message was quickly deleted by Fox Sports Norte, with reports suggesting that the site's Twitter feed had been hacked.

Messi scored his 73rd goal of the season in Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in Friday night's Spanish Cup final.

His stunning goal-scoring record has led to many fans to label him as the greatest player in the world.