The stars of Manchester City said goodbye to the paradisiacal surroundings of Abu Dhabi and returned to a soggy England on Monday morning after a week of warm weather training.
And Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne were handed a double dose of reality when they arrived back at the Etihad Campus, where they had kept their cars during the trip.
Sterling and De Bruyne both found themselves leaning out of the windows of their swanky motors as the barrier at the world-class training headquarters refused to let them leave.
Eventually, the problem was sorted and the two international stars were able to make their way home after what has probably been a relaxing week in the Middle East.