Outside the Camp Nou players' tunnel, stewards struggled to control the giant inflatables bearing the number "549".
Barcelona were set to play Levante on Sunday night and Xavi Hernandez, the midfielder, was about to start his record-equalling 549th game for the Catalans, matching the mark of 1970s and 80s defender Migueli.
Xavi, 30, has been a mainstay in some of Barca's greatest ever sides since making his debut as an 18-year-old in 1998.
Barca celebrated the achievement with a brief presentation before the game against the backdrop of unruly inflatables, yet they did not count on water sprinklers soaking the staff erecting them.
Xavi, famously one of the cheekiest characters in the Barca dressing room, laughed at the chaos as he soaked up the applause from the 71,000 crowd.
Xavi may be the joker in the pack, but he took the milestone very seriously.
With the appearance record looming into view when I interviewed him last year, the midfielder from the Barcelona satellite town of Terrassa said: "I'll play until the legs tell me to stop, but my game does not depend on speed like others.
"I hope to pass the all time appearance record for Barca which would be a great honour. Imagine that, to play more Barca games than anyone else? It's always about the team, but that would be my greatest achievement."
Xavi will better Migueli's mammoth total on the road this week, either against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey tomorrow or at Deportivo La Coruna in the league on Saturday.
Those in the know believe he could play another 200 games for the club, putting the record out of sight, as Ryan Giggs did to Sir Bobby Charlton's at Manchester United.
"Xavi seems to get younger every game," Sandro Rosell, the Barca president, said. "I wouldn't want to guess how many games he'll play for Barça."
"It's immense," added Pep Guardiola, his coach and long-time hero.
"I think he might get to 700 or something."
Xavi has never become stale or bored, partly because he is a football fan.
He still gets excited about visiting new stadiums and enthuses about past atmospheres or players around the world from Matt Le Tissier to his childhood hero Bernd Schuster. But most of all he is a cule (a Barca fan).
"Being a fan helped me through the difficult times," Xavi said. "You can't put a price on being loved so much in your own home. I have also been criticised, but I always wanted to triumph here."
As self-effacing as ever, he suggested that Andres Iniesta, his sublime midfield partner, or Victor Valdes, the goalkeeper, could surpass his appearance record because they are younger, jokingly adding: "But it will be difficult for Carles [Puyol]. He's two years older than me and hasn't played as many games."
Probably the best midfielder in the world and a master of creating space when there seems to be none, Xavi has won everything there is to win at Camp Nou and for the Spanish national side.
There were offers for him to leave Barcelona, a direct one from AC Milan and an indirect one from Manchester United through Sir Alex Ferguson's brother, but he stayed where he is loved, the heartbeat of the most attack-minded team in world football.
So rare is a misplaced Xavi pass that locals still talk about the one time he did give the ball away in the early 1990s.
Against Levante on Sunday, Xavi managed an astonishing 156 passes, almost 50 per cent more than the whole of the visiting team combined.
History could well remember him as the greatest ever player in Barca's history.
Considering that he is wearing the same colours sported by Lionel Messi, Johan Cruyff, Iniesta, Diego Maradona, Laszlo Kubala and Ronaldo, that is some recognition.