Hackers take over Barcelona's Twitter account to announce fake signing of Angel di Maria

The collective jaw of the soccer world dropped late Tuesday night when Barcelona's Twitter account announced a blockbuster deal: Paris Saint-Germain had agreed to send Argentine star Angel di Maria to Barcelona. Finally, fans thought, a suitable replacement for outgoing star Neymar, who signed with PSG earlier this month on a record-breaking deal, had been found!

There was just one problem - the tweet was fake.

Barcelona confirmed the hack around midnight after the hackers sent out two more tweets, one requesting fans to help make a hashtag about the hack trend, and another tweet that appeared to identify the hackers as a group named OutMine. The hacked messages, which have since been deleted, also appeared on Barcelona's Facebook page.

Unsurprisingly, conspiracy theories abounded immediately after the hack, which came shortly after Barcelona announced its plans to sue Neymar for allegedly breaching his contract with the club that he signed last year. The team is seeking to recoup a signing bonus, as well as $10 million in damages and 10 percent interest.

A day after the hacks, it remains unclear who hacked into Barcelona's social media accounts and for what purpose.

Meanwhile, as Barcelona's front office continues its fight with Neymar, the Brazilian's ex-teammates appear to hold no grudges about his transfer to PSG. On Tuesday, several Barcelona stars, including Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, attended the birthday party of Neymar's 5-year-old son Davi Lucca.

Barcelona executives were "very upset" about all the posts, according to Spanish media reports, because it made it appear that the players had taken the side of Neymar over the club.

Despite the turmoil and a lack of an adequate replacement for Neymar, Barcelona opened its La Liga season with a 2-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday. The win wasn't a dominating one, though. Both Messi and Suarez failed to score, as the goals came courtesy of Sergi Roberto and Betis's Alin Tosca, who scored an unlucky own goal.

Just one game into the season, Barcelona stands second in La Liga's standings behind Real Madrid, who leads on account of a one goal differential.