Barcelona Reportedly Cancel Meeting Between Leo Messi, Disabled Fan from Stoke

FC Barcelona has apologised and is scrambling to repair a situation after a gesture of goodwill went wrong, according to Ross Parker of the Mirror.

Hanya Sajad of Stoke, England, and her family spent £1,000 on tickets to the Spanish city to see the La Liga, Champions League and Club World Cup champions play Atletico Madrid earlier this year.

Sajad, who has to have painful hormone injections after being born with half a heart, was promised a meet-and-greet with the club's players, including five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi.

But the 11-year-old was left heartbroken when, after waiting for two hours, her meeting with Luis Enrique's side was cancelled.

And to add insult to injury, she ended up missing the first 20 minutes of the match as her family sorted out a situation that arose from the club scrapping a planned ticket upgrade.

Her mother, Lisa McLane, told the Mirror the disappointment "broke her heart."

"

She got all built up for it and thought her dream was going to come true and it was then taken away from her in an instant. She really wanted to see the opening ceremony but didn't get to see any of it.

She's usually so happy and smiley, but she was putting on a really fake smile. It was awful and heartbreaking. I was more upset for her. I tried to make her dream come true but ended up feeling like I had just let her down. ...

She was telling everybody that she was going to see Messi, not just to watch the match, but actually meet him. The night before we left she told her friends but now she has nothing to show them.

"

McLane said Hanya's support of the side hasn't wavered, and "she still loves them as much as she did before."

The club said it intends to contact the family "very soon" to try to find a resolution.

[Mirror]