But his time at St James's Park might well have ended in ignominy, with Geremi – whose agents are in talks Besiktas over a £1.5m move to the Turkish club – having been booed off the pitch in his last appearance.

Sir Bobby Robson said he had warned his old club - when he heard they were attempting to buy Geremi – that his best days were probably behind him.

And sadly, Robson looks to have been proved right.

While Geremi's quality from set pieces is not in question, a long career which has included spells at Real Madrid and Chelsea – has taken its toll on the 30-year-old's legs, and he was found wanting in open play against West Ham last Saturday.

Geremi, himself frustrated at a lack of first-team football at United, has ducked all interviews in recent weeks, dodging one request outside Fratton Park last month by complaining it was "too cold".

However, he won't have that excuse should he join Besiktas in Istanbul, where it was a slightly more tolerable 10 degrees today.