Neymar finally came up with the goal that was practically demanded on his Paris Saint-Germain debut after a £200m world-record transfer that rocked football.

But when you can scare defenders so much that they’d rather plant the ball into their own net, or beautifully tee up your team-mates, scoring is almost a bonus.

The huge statement of intent from Paris Saint-Germain in forking out for Neymar handed a bloody nose not only to Barcelona but to La Liga. None of the so-called giants of world football will feel safe when PSG come calling from now on after such a game-changing investment.

It is not immediately clear who are the biggest beneficiaries of the stunning fee, in a package of £450m including wages of £1m-a-week – the club, the player, the PSG fans or Qatar in the build-up to a World Cup that caused so much controversy by being selected to host in 2022.

Via their owners, the club desperate to win the Champions League as well as the Ligue 1 title back from Monaco seem at times inextricably linked to the oil-rich nation, not least through the sponsorship backing of vehicles such as the country’s Tourist Authority.

But French football is a sure-fire winner, with interest in the domestic competition set to surge. The howls from the Catalans showed full well this was a player they were not ready to lose. Neymar, the mother of all marquee signings, has a worldwide cachet that extends way beyond his native South America. It might even pay, despite the outrageous fee.

It hardly seems a year ago that Jose Mourinho was telling anyone who would listen that the £89m he had just splurged on Paul Pogba would soon be a footnote in financial history, and the bar was duly raised this summer in spectacular, some would say absurd and obscene, fashion.

PSG have pulled off a neat trick in France, managing to make billionaire-owned Monaco, last season’s champions with all the competitive advantages in taxation on salaries they have enjoyed in past years, look like the underdogs of the piece.

And last night, from around 15 miles out of Guingamp, fans sporting the red, white and black of the home team stood on the bridges waving flags and offering the illustrious visitors their own special welcome for Neymar.

It was not quite the "Welcome to Hell" of Galatasary in Turkey, but nevertheless, the sense of occasion was evident.

The fees may go up and up, but some things never change. The Paris supporters were greeted in the traditional fashion by the Bretons, showing less than total respect for the hundreds of millions of pounds spent, and the wealth of stardust.

It seemed as if all 18,000 booked in at a stadium long since sold out arrived at the same moment, delivering pre-match chaos as security staff and police alike struggled to manage the mayhem of celebrity-stricken fans, cars, coaches and an army of media from around the world.

Brittany in general, and Guingamp and the Stade Roudourou in particular, seemed a particularly incongruous place for Neymar to make his bow for his third club, after the great names of Santos and Barcelona.

They hadn’t seen a comic-book hero like this around these parts since the legendary, if fictional, Asterix, with the adventures of the moustachioed Gaul and his battles against the Romans set in the former Armorica.

Guingamp, a tiny town with a population of just 7000 – some two and half times less than the ground holds – could fairly be described as a backwater. Not last night.

Some international wrangling meant no debut at the Parc des Princes in the City of Lights for the Brazilian superstar, with that honour falling to a region better known for campsites and crepes.

Around an hour before kick-off, Neymar was, as expected, named in the No.10 shirt for a first start for PSG, the number having been kindly donated by team-mate Javier Pastore.

And the man who could easily have been involved in yet another El Clasico against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup last night was on the pitch, warming up with tricks and flicks in the centre circle. Here for the challenge and not the money? Not everyone is convinced.

Neymar came in for some rough treatment early on from Guingamp’s Marcus Coco and Jordan Ikoko. But Edison Cavani almost put the Brazilian through after 12 minutes, and after 20 minutes the new boy fired wildly high and wide from the edge of the box.

A bit of magic saw Neymar tee up Marquinhos with a delightful cross, but the centre-back could only head against the bar with the goal gaping. And one mazy run into the area saw him appealing for a penalty that never came after more uncompromising defending.

But PSG took the lead after 52 minutes – with Jordan Ikoko apparently so terrified by Neymar’s marauding presence he planted the ball past his own keeper from 10 yards. And not long after he put Cavani through for a chance that was gobbled up by the Uruguayan. And the favour was soon returned, to complete a joyful start to the new chapter.