Spanish football was turned completely on its head on Wednesday, after the national side's head coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked just 48 hours before their first World Cup group game against Portugal.
As Spain continues to deal with the fallout, where Lopetegui agreed to become the new manager of Real Madrid behind his employers' backs, Marca have now revealed that the 51-year-old was only sacked after first refusing to resign from his role.
According to the Spanish football news outlet, Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Manuel Rubiales was informed of Lopetegui's confirmation as Real Madrid manager just minutes before announcement, and responded by immediately flying out to Spain's training camp in Krasnodar to deal with the manager in person.