Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar has responded to the latest Football Leaks revelations concerning the "ethical bonuses" the French champions receive as part of their contracts and blasted the journalists as a "bunch of misinformed idiots."
Earlier this week, France 2's "Envoye Special" looked at those bonuses and claimed that one of the terms involved was applauding the supporters after each match.
Reports have surfaced claiming that Neymar earns €375,000 simply by clapping the fans.
"I do not know what is worse ..." the Brazil international wrote. "The source or those who respond. A bunch of misinformed idiots.
"I am tired of the ill-intentioned press. Thank you, God, for every litre of patience that you give me."
PSG and Brazil teammate Thiago Silva, who reportedly earns €33,000 for the same gesture, joined Neymar in ridiculing the claims.
"It is becoming routine," the captain wrote before adding that the stories are "a shame" and "fake news."
Right-back Thomas Meunier shed light on the situation on Saturday when replying to a tweet about the ethical bonuses and rejected the idea the bonus is simply for applauding the supporters.
"This amount is known as an 'ethical bonus' and includes numerous obligations for the player towards the club and the supporters, as well as the player themselves [professionalism and respect towards others]. It is far from being a bonus for simply applauding the fans," he wrote.
Speaking at a news conference at Camp des Loges ahead of Sunday's Ligue 1 trip to struggling Monaco, PSG coach Thomas Tuchel quickly lost his patience with questions about Football Leaks and the ethical bonuses.
"I did not see the report," the German said. "I hear many things. For me, it is not a topic with either the team or my staff.
"Honestly, I am here to coach and manage the squad and my staff. We have our match against Monaco to prepare for and this has not affected us."
Tuchel said he pays little attention to social media but knows that his players do, although he insisted that it poses little problem.
"I am very old school," the former Borussia Dortmund and Mainz boss said. "I do not check Instagram, Snapchat or anything like that -- I do not know what my players are doing on the internet.
"However, for the players, particularly the younger guys, it is normal to react and to express an opinion.
"It is not a problem for me to seriously prepare for the game. I do not think that this will have any influence."
Asked if he takes an interest in Kylian Mbappe and Neymar's social media use at home, Tuchel said: "I am interested in what goes on in our dressing room. What Kylian and Neymar do at home and whether or not they react to what they see on the internet does not matter to me.
"I do not know if they have been disturbed [by the allegations], you will have to ask them."
Tuchel has not decided between Gianluigi Buffon and Alphonse Areola to start in goal away at Monaco, while he also hinted that Adrien Rabiot and Edinson Cavani could be reinstated to the starting XI.
PSG are on a 12-game winning run in the league -- a new record in Europe's top five leagues -- and start the weekend 10 points clear at the top of Ligue 1.