Paris Saint-Germain ultras showed their discontent with the club and their team, despite being 16 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, during Friday night’s win over Rennes.
A late Kylian Mbappe goal saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side record a late victory in another underwhelming performance, but it was events off the pitch which may prove a bigger story.
The French club’s ultras launched a protest in which their Auteuil stand of the Parc des Princes was empty for the first 25 minutes, while there was no chanting or support for the rest of the first half.
There were over 20 banners unveiled by the ultras which were a direct attack on the club’s hierarchy and playing staff, whom they described as ‘overpaid mercenaries’.
The demonstrations from the fans came just four days before the French club face a season-defining Champions League Round of 16 clash against Real Madrid.
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Not only did the ultras not enter the stadium for the opening 25 minutes, but they blocked all entrances of their stand before remaining silent upon entering midway through the first half.
One of their multiple banners explained, in a message to their players: ‘A half to prove our discontent. How many will it take to prove your commitment?’
In an even stronger message, the ultras held up the line: 'They also choose their matches. We’ll do the same.’
Another banner read: ‘We sing with passion for players with no motivation, while another blasted the ‘overpaid mercenaries’ in their squad.
The one player who was spared from the criticism was the club’s captain Marquinhos, who was described by one banner as the ‘example to follow’ for the rest of his teammates.
Referencing the club’s recent elimination from the Coupe de France, another banner spelled out: ‘Disrespectful managers, players without desire, tops without our colours - the only treble for PSG this season.’
A series of individuals were also targeted for abuse including director of communication Jean-Martial Ribes and Ulrich Rame, the general manager of PSG’s women’s side with the message that it was a ‘management team who stink of c**p’.
The man who appeared to bear the brunt of most of the criticism was sporting director Leonardo, with the question: ‘Leonardo, time to go?’
The club’s president Nasser al-Khelaïfi was not named in any of the criticism.
When quizzed about the situation after the match, Pochettino insisted: “We need unity. The supporters are very important for a club, and they have the right to express themselves, but we need union.
“We are entering an important moment of the season, and we have to be together. As I always say, we can sit down at the end of the season to try to correct things, because there are undoubtedly things to improve.
“So that our club continues to be one of the biggest in the world.”
PSG captain Marquinhos, who was spared any criticism, explained after the late win: "It was tough to open the scoring.
"Rennes defended well, stopped us from unblocking the game and gave us little space - even if we had the ball. In the end, one player made the difference.
"It is important to have players who can keep their composure like that to score, but it was also a team effort."
PSG host Real Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash on Tuesday before travelling to the Spanish capital for the return leg on 9 March.
