The Ballon d'Or ceremony served up a comical mix-up that Germany could not fail to notice. During a video montage celebrating the award's greatest legends, the organisers flashed up a picture of Michael Rummenigge, brother of German great Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, rather than the two-time winner himself, crowned in 1980 and 1981.
This was more than a simple name slip. The photo exposed a tangle of historical detail: it dated back to a 1987 clash between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, by which point Karl-Heinz had already left the Bavarian club for Inter Milan. His brother Michael was the one wearing the Bayern shirt in that era.
An unexpected reaction from the German legend
You might expect a two-time Ballon d'Or winner to bristle at such a blunder. Rummenigge did the opposite. He took it all in good humour, telling German newspaper "Bild".
The former Bayern Munich star said: "It just made me smile. At least, in the end, the Ballon d'Or stayed within the family."
He brushed the error aside, even as the ceremony organisers rushed to apologise. He accepted their words but insisted none were needed in the first place.
"Of course, I accept the apology, but it really was not necessary," he added. "Everyone makes mistakes in life."
Rummenigge may have stayed relaxed, but the slip-up set social media alight across Germany. It helped that the subject was one of the biggest names in Ballon d'Or history, a man who lifted the prize in 1980 and 1981.
Harry Kane, this year's winner, has become the first Bayern Munich player to claim the award since Rummenigge back in 1981.