Valencia have issued a bizarre statement slamming their "fake fans" and blamed them for the club's troubles over the last two years.
Under Marcelino this season, Valencia have been tremendous in LaLiga and look like genuine title challengers, having collected 27 points from 11 matches.
But it was not so long ago that the club appeared to be in a mess, as they threatened to get embroiled in a relegation battle last season, before eventually finishing in a fairly modest 12th place and offloading numerous high-earning players who were failing to justify their wages.
Cesare Prandelli underperformed as coach, while Jesus Garcia Pitarch – their sporting director – came under significant criticism, eventually leading to both leaving the club.
Yet, with everything seemingly going well at the Mestalla, out of the blue Valencia have made the decision to slam those whom they label "fake fans" for criticising the club when things were not so smooth.
EDITORIAL: Meriton saved VCF from collapse and is making great again November 8, 2017
The statement read: "Since Meriton [Valencia's mother company] took control of Valencia (VCF), a number of 'fake fans' from different sectors have tried to dominate the news about VCF and have sold false news and lies to our true followers.
"These 'false fans' are noisy and motivated by their own interests, not by VCF, and certainly not by the interests of the real fans, who make up the silent majority.
"Through a series of editorials, we will explain to our true fans the truth about how Meriton saved this club from the almost irreparable damage caused by previous efforts and has led to its successful current situation.
"In the pre-Meriton era, misplaced egos, mismanagement and mistakes made by previous managers gradually led to this club to serious problems; extremely high debts, an unfinished stadium more than a decade old, fiscal problems, fines from the EU.
"Some Valencians took advantage of this club, often for their personal satisfaction, often for money, but certainly with the intention of benefiting a very small circle of people.
"The situation was so bad that VCF could not pay the salaries of the players. The VCF academy was bleeding. Most people, especially amateurs, suffered. VCF almost died.
"Peter Lim invested more than €200million of his own money to save this club. None of the 'false fans' who claim to defend this club of Meriton and Peter Lim put money to save this institution.
"The 'fake fans' have boosted the story that VCF has always had excellent sporting records before Meriton and that it should always be in the top four. This is far from the truth.
"In the last two seasons, some of these 'false fans' sabotaged the atmosphere in the locker room. They attacked the team bus and threatened our players. In Mestalla, they tried to intimidate the team instead of helping them as real followers would.
"We will speak to our true fans directly about what the VCF is doing. We will reduce the intermediaries who work for their own interests and not those of the club and its fans. We are very clear that we are the only ones who will do it."
