The images travelled fast. Kylian Mbappe gesturing for his team-mates to leave the pitch. Xabi Alonso asking him to stay. Mbappe insisting. And Xabi, eventually, turning away and doing as his star demanded. No guard of honour for Barcelona after their Spanish Super Cup win on Sunday.
For many, it looked like a lack of sporting grace, something never associated with Xabi Alonso. It also suggested something else entirely, that the team, not the manager, was in charge.
And after a final that had been tight, decided by a deflection, you could almost imagine Xabi thinking: enough.
But this was not a resignation. And it was not planned. Xabi Alonso did not expect to be leaving as Real Madrid boss - just seven months after being appointed. Not yet anyway.
In the official statement, Real Madrid described the departure as "mutual agreement" but it was a departure that was ultimately inevitable.
