As the Manchester United players prepared to trudge up the Wembley steps and collect their runners-up medals, there was a poignant gesture for Bruno Fernandes to go first.
Harry Maguire is still technically the club captain, but it is quite clear that the Portuguese is viewed as the real leader of the United side.
The changing of the guard will likely be made official this summer. Maguire is set to leave the club and Fernandes is viewed as the leading candidate to take over the armband.
A year ago, Fernandes looked like he could be an awkward fit in Erik ten Hag's side. It is testament to his application and ability that he has continued to be important and offered new things to his side.
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He is still somewhat of a square peg in a round hole. The 28-year-old takes unnecessary risks, loses the ball too often, and can let his emotions get the better of him in the heat of the moment.
Yet it is that fire in his belly and that volatile unpredictability that also make him so dangerous. He remains the catalyst for this United side but is now prospering alongside fellow football intellects who are on the same wavelength.
There is an argument to suggest Fernandes has just enjoyed his best season in a United shirt. Yes, there have been other campaigns where he has stood out as the star man and grabbed more goals, but now he is much more of a team player than a talisman.
Even if he isn't quite producing the freakish numbers of old, it is still a fine achievement to register 14 goals and 15 assists for his side across all competitions. He has reached double figures in both metrics in each of his last six seasons.
Rather than operating as a one-man show, Fernandes is now equally impressive as the support act and still often steals the headlines with his understated brilliance. He has always been the brains of the team, but now he is the beating heart as well.
Whereas he used to be selfish, he is now selfless. 27 per cent of his appearances this season came out of his favoured attacking midfield role, yet he didn't complain about it once and was happy to sacrifice himself for the greater good of the team.
"It's a pleasure to play alongside him," Casemiro said of his midfield teammate. "He is the engine of the team, the one who helps us the most."
Marcus Rashford has expressed similar sentiments. The England forward secured a clean sweep at the club's end-of-season awards, but he was torn between Casemiro and Fernandes for his own player of the season.
"I think I nominated two people," he said. "I don't know if I'm allowed to do that [laughs]. I voted for Case [Casemiro] and Bruno [Fernandes]. I feel like Case has done an amazing job since coming in, and he has made us a lot more solid. That freed the likes of people like Bruno and [Christian] Eriksen, who I thought had had a tremendous season as well, to play their football."
It says so much about Fernandes' character and commitment that he is revered so highly amongst his peers, and it also highlights the improvements at United that he is no longer the only player they depend upon.
A Manchester Evening News special souvenir edition - Fergie's First - charts United's 1992/93 title-winning campaign and you can get your hands on one here
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