If he was bothered by the slurs thrown at him by a small number of Barcelona supporters during a tense, see-sawing Clasico, in which Sergio Ramos maintained Real’s six-point advantage at the top of La Liga with a last-minute header, he had a curious way of showing it.

One section of fans at the Nou Camp baited him with a chant of “Cristiano, come out of the closet”, which could prompt a league investigation.

La Liga has promised to respond strongly to all reported instances of homophobia after Ronaldo was the target of similar abuse in the same match here last season.