Leeds manager Terry Venables has accused Olivier Dacourt of trying to engineer a move away from Elland Road.
Venables was disappointed by comments made by French international Dacourt, who complained about the way he had been treated by Venables.
Dacourt's views were made public on the morning of yesterday's match away to Fulham, where Leeds lost 1-0.
Former England boss Venables was not happy with the timing of the revelations, and felt Dacourt's actions were selfish and hurt his team-mates.
"I was disappointed to read comments from Olivier Dacourt complaining at the way I have treated him at Leeds," Venables told The News Of The World.
"I think his timing speaks volumes about the kind of person he is.
"Everyone knows we are going through a tough time at the moment but Olivier clearly isn't too bothered about that.
"He's a man who plays for himself - and speaks for himself. He really isn't too concerned about how it affects his own team-mates.
"Who does he think he's hurting when he calls the team a 'disgrace' on the morning of an important game for us all?
"What good is he doing for his own team-mates' morale when he claims they 'don't really know what's going on'?"
Venables claims Dacourt, who has four years left on his contract, has been working towards a move away from Leeds for months.
"Dacourt claims he loves England - well, let me tell you this: he's been engineering to find a way out for the last 12 months and that includes the period when David O'Leary was manager here as well.
"He also states 'I used to have an excellent relationship with O'Leary'. I can't help notice there how Dacourt is saying 'I' instead of 'we', and that's exactly, in my opinion, how he plays his football - for himself only.
"He says he's been sat in the stands with no idea what his future is, claiming I've dropped him without an explanation and that his contact with me is distant.
"Well, I would like to say here and now that he knows exactly what I think of him.
"I can't believe he has the nerve to say those things and I think he should take a long hard look at himself."
Dacourt claims he has been linked to clubs in Italy, and Venables said: "If he wants to go to Italy - and if someone is interested - I will personally drive him there."