FC Barcelona is trying to crack down on TikTokers who are hounding Lionel Messi and his teammates at training just for views
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Barnaby Lane
Mar 26, 2021, 18:17 IST
Messi is one of the Barcelona players who has been subject to abuse.Getty
FC Barcelona is attempting to crack down on TikTokers who are hounding players and insulting them.
A number of players have been targeted at the club's training ground, while one was sought out at his home.
The club has held preliminary talks with police about tightening security.
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FC Barcelona wants to increase security at its training ground in an effort to crack down on TikTokers who are hounding players and insulting them just for views.
Messi lost his cool earlier this month when confronted by someone attempting to film him as he arrived to training, saying: "You've already made a ton of the same videos, you can't spend your whole life making videos of me."
Messi can be seen admonishing fans in the video below, which is captioned: "Messi gets angry with some fans."
Defender Samuel Umtiti was filmed at a set of traffic lights as he left training by a group shouting "Go to Barca B" at him, prompting the Frenchman to briefly get out of his vehicle before getting back in.
Clement Lenglet was also verbally abused outside the training ground after Barcelona's draw with Cadiz in February, while midfielder Pedri was targeted at his home.
Barcelona has held preliminary talks with police about tightening security around their training ground when players arrive and depart, reports ESPN, however, has been told it would be difficult to prevent people from approaching the players' cars.
Barcelona has its own TikTok account, which has over 8.1 million followers.
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