Russian champions Zenit Saint Peterbsurg were in danger of descending into civil war on Sunday after its top players refused to take to the pitch over the arrival of Brazilian superstar strike Hulk. Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel signed for a reported 100 million euros ($130 million) this month from Portuguese clubs Porto and Benfica - a sum covered by the team's enormous sponsor Gazprom.
But Zenit has since failed to win its three matches - losing two and drawing one - while seeing Hulk express displeasure over some of the Russians' commitment after his very first appearance on the pitch.
The tensions were clearly running both ways this week when leading league scorer Alexander Kerzhakov and new Russian captain Igor Denisov boycotted training and requested to be kept out of this weekend's action.
Luciano Spalletti responded by listening to their demands and then assigning them to the youth squad. Reports said several other players may soon follow.
Sports agents said Denisov was taken aback by Hulk's reported the 6.5-million-euro annual wages and shocked to hear that Witsel himself would be making almost half that.
The Russian team captain was said to be seeking new terms even before Hulk's arrival and was being strongly supported by Kerzhakov.
Team sources said the pair's position was backed by the influential goalkeeper Vyaceslav Malafeyev as well as the veterans Vladimir Bystrov and Alexander Anyukov - all three of them current or former national team players.
Hulk for his part used this weekend's away draw with lowly Samara to open his Russian account with a blistering trademark shot from outside the penalty area that crept in under the crossbar.