Just as a tearful Cristiano Ronaldo was returning to the Portugal dressing room, his former Manchester United teammates were striding out onto the Benito Villamarín Stadium pitch in Seville.
'Viva Ronaldo' has been permanently rewritten as 'Viva Garnacho' and an Argentina flag was unfurled by United supporters at the expansive Benito Villamarín Stadium. On a night England were preparing for a World Cup quarter-final, old habits die hard for United supporters who have seldom lacked antipathy for the national side.
The eyes of the world are on the World Cup and United's games in Spain have felt a world away from Qatar. The timing of their second friendly in Andalucia, sandwiched between two quarter-finals, was especially dubious as Spain were expected to be Portugal's opponents for the early kick-off, not the magnificent Moroccans.
