Barcelona's players had just returned to the locker room when Gerard Pique put out a message on Twitter.
"We are back," it read.
Pique and his teammates had stayed on the field at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium celebrating the team's commanding 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish league.
They jumped and sang along with the few hundred visiting fans still left at the mostly empty venue.
Inside, coach Xavi Hernandez waited to embrace each player as they returned.
"Vamos, vamos! (Let's go!)," was the common exchange.
It was the type of statement Barcelona needed in a difficult rebuilding year following the departure of Lionel Messi and the collapse of its finances.
The rout on the road against the team's biggest rival, which had been comfortably leading the Spanish league and had just eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, reassured Barcelona that it's on the right path.
His wife Shakira, the world renowned pop star, has added support for her husband who has been facing a lot of flak for his depleting football skills.
After Barca's win, she wrote on her Instagram: "Gerard won't let me say these things publicly. But only he with his heroism can play like this, overcoming any injury or pain and always giving his best. It's not because he's my husband, but he's the best center back in the world."
