Leicester striker Jamie Vardy says that meditating he was involved in manager Claudio Ranieri's dismissal is "untrue and extremely painful".
Ranieri was sacked on Thursday, after leading the club to the Premier League title.
Caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare previously denied a player revolt had led to Ranieri's dismissal.
"There is speculation I was involved in his dismissal and this is completely untrue, unfounded and is extremely hurtful he stated.
"The only thing we are guilty of as a team is underachieving, which we all acknowledge both in the dressing room and publicly, and will do our best to rectify."
Vardy scored 24 goals as the Foxes secured an unlikely Premier League title in 2015-16, but the striker has struggled this season.
He ended a nine-game goal drought during Leicester's 2-1 Champions League loss at Sevilla, which proved to be Ranieri's last match in charge.
"He believed in me when many didn't and for that I owe him my eternal gratitude," Vardy wrote.
"I wish Claudio the very, very best in whatever the future holds for him. Thank you Claudio for everything."
Former England captain Alan Shearer said: "I didn't need the sacking of Ranieri to tell me the players weren't working for him. I could see it. I've been saying it for the last two or three months, that the players just weren't working for him.
"I would say to the Leicester players, if you look in the mirror and ask yourself a question - have I worked as hard as I could and given the manager everything? I would pretty much say, for the vast majority of that Leicester squad, the answer would be no. They could do more, I'm certain of that.
"Fans will get over it, I'm sure. We saw what happened with Chelsea when Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were booed after half an hour and then Chelsea go and score goals and get back to winning ways. Fans soon forget. However, you will never ever forget what happened last season. That was the best thing that has happened and will ever happen, in the Premier League, a team achieving what like Leicester did."
However goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said he had "no problem with Ranieri" while several players, including midfielder Andy King and winger Demarai Gray thanked Ranieri on social media.
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