The two men have played down their often acrimonious rivalry since arriving in Manchester - and so far in China - but they are under the same spotlight once again in Beijing. Jose Mourinho's hastily re-arranged press conference ahead of Manchester United's clash with Manchester City in Beijing will serve as a reminder of his new club's enduring popularity.

Around one hundred media representatives had packed a cramped room in the Olympic Sports Centre - which was itself only utilised as a back-up option due to the sorry state of the pitch at the nearby Bird's Nest Stadium - resulting in United media staff deciding to move the media briefing outside. It was too busy and too hot. Ultimately, too popular.

Pep Guardiola will not care that his earlier conference was attended by a smaller number of media. He was not fazed by the pulling of Real Madrid during his time at Barcelona, either, and ultimately these things do not matter.

But it goes to show that these two old foes will be thrown into the same spotlight sooner than they would have anticipated, and perhaps liked.

Whether Mourinho and Guardiola are delighted at the prospect of facing each other so early in their respective new jobs is not entirely certain, but the chance for their teams to meet an opponent on a level footing will surely be welcome.

For both United and City, who meet in the International Champions Cup in Beijing on Monday, it is an opportunity at least to get a good idea of where exactly they stand with less than three weeks to go until the Premier League begins again.