Barcelona's official Twitter account was reportedly hacked by a group of activists claiming to be the Syrian Electronic Army.

A number of messages appeared on three of the Spanish outfit's Twitter accounts after Barca secured a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the first leg of their round-of-16 Champions League tie last night.

According to The Mirror, one message read: "Dear FC Barcelona management, don't let the Qatari money funds you, it's full of blood and kill."

It is believed that the messages, one of which said, "Special hi to Real Madrid," were displayed for some 20 minutes before they were deleted.