Manchester City's Bernardo SIlva shook the hand of every Manchester United player following their defeat at Old Trafford as he repaid the gesture Bruno Fernandes did at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season.
City meet United this afternoon in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Erik ten Hag's side are seeking their second trophy of the season after winning the Carabao Cup earlier this campaign, while Pep Guardiola's men have their sights set on keeping their hopes of claiming the Treble alive.
It will see Portuguese compatriots in the form of Fernandes and Bernardo reunited once again on the pitch. Though they have different allegiances in Manchester, they are good friends off the pitch and have been since they were teenagers.
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The pair are usually in frequent contact, but that communication has dried up heading into this afternoon's Wembley showdown. It will be strictly business for the game, and the normal relationship will resume afterwards.
Both sides have already tasted victory over one another this season in the Premier League. City humbled United 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium when they met there in October, but Erik ten Hag's side beat Pep Guardiola's outfit 2-1 at Old Trafford in January.
When United lost at the Etihad, Fernandes made the classy gesture of shaking the hand of every City player afterwards. So Bernardo returned the gesture when United beat City earlier this year, his Portuguese national team-mate revealed.
Speaking to ESPN, Fernandes said: "Now, going to the game, we normally don't speak. We will speak after the game. The time we discuss more these types of games is when we go away with the national team and we talk about the way he plays, or I play, or the way City play, the way United play.
"What he sees as our strengths and our weaknesses. It is a normal chat between fans of football. I have a great relationship with Bernardo.
"When we won the game [against City] at home, he came in and shook my hand. He said, 'When you lost at our home [6-3] and it was a bad game, you shook the hand of everyone else, so I have to do it, even when I lose.'"
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