New York Times mistakes Lionel Messi and fellow Barcelona players for Barcelona fans

Robbie Keane isn’t the only high-profile footballer to be mistaken for a fan in America, it seems. Yes, we know that football, soccer or whatever you want to call it isn’t the most popular sport in America and it doesn’t attract widespread coverage compared to American Football, basketball and some of the other major sports Stateside. It’s one thing mistaking Robbie Keane (no offence Robbie) for a mere fan alongside Russell Brand and David Beckham, however and another thing altogether making the same mistake for half of the Barcelona squad. Obviously the guy in charge of the photo captions at the New York Times isn’t much of a football fan as he assumed that Barcelona players from right to left, Alexis Sanchez, Jose Pinto, Pedro, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and David Villa were merely Barcelona fans greeting Eric Abidal outside the Nou Camp yesterday as the French defender, who battled back to play for the Catalan side after serious health problems, bade farewell to the club after six seasons. They only happen to be some of the best players in the world playing for arguably the best club in the world, but let’s not go too hard on the person responsible for the gaffe; it could happen to anybody. Actually no, no it couldn't. Hat-tip: Twitter/Total Football