A section of the Chelsea fan-base appears to have turned on defender Antonio Rudiger, following reports that the out-of-favour defender actively 'caused issues' in the build up to the sacking of Frank Lampard.
The club legend was relieved of his managerial duties on Monday, in a bitter parting which looks to have created a fierce divide among supporters.
Prior to Lampard being given his marching orders reports had emerged of Rudiger being a prominent source of disruption within the Chelsea ranks, 'causing issues' and allegedly 'clashing' with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
Rudiger had fallen drastically down the pecking order under Lampard and was essentially the fourth choice centre-back, with many people expecting his departure from Stamford Bridge in the summer window.
Lampard however was unable to trim his bloated squad, retaining the likes of Rudiger, Jorginho and Marcos Alonso despite making it clear none of the players were in his long-term plans.
Now, Chelsea fans appear to have apportioned some of the blame for Lampard's exit firmly in the direction of Rudiger, and took to social media to leave hateful comments beneath a recent Instagram upload made by the player.
Just over a week ago Rudiger had published an image of himself playing for Chelsea in the west London clash with Fulham, along with the caption: 'Crucial derby victory with a clean sheet - we go again on Tuesday.'
Soon however comments with a sinister undertone began to pour in, with fans expressing their dissatisfaction with the German and urging him to leave the club.
One response read: 'You don’t deserve to play for this club anymore,' and was then 'liked' hundreds of times over as a sign of solidarity from others sharing the same opinion.
Another user simply wrote 'you are guilty,' before it was added: 'not good enough for Chelsea football club.'
Rudiger was restored to the starting XI for Lampard's final two league games as boss - a narrow win at Fulham and then defeat at Leicester - but it proved too little, too late for the man widely seen as Chelsea's greatest ever player, who was dismissed by owner Roman Abramovich.
