French football was charged with excitement throughout last week as the anticipation of getting to watch the game’s most expensive player in action built.
Paris Saint-Germain’s €222 million signing from Barcelona, Neymar, made his bow at Guingamp’s Stade du Roudourou on Sunday, where he scored one and created another in a 3-0 victory.
It was a moment the 25-year-old had clearly been looking forward to. Shortly before kick off in Brittany, he took to his Instagram account to post a message to his fans.
Unlike at Barcelona, the Brazil international has found plenty of his compatriots in the French capital, including Dani Alves, who he apparently talked into moving to the Parc des Princes rather than Manchester City.
It should come as little surprise, then, that Neymar has been quite happy to bond with the group he knows from the national team. Indeed, he was happy to get hot and sweaty with Lucas Moura, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Alves in the sauna earlier this week.
Despite the pressure of making his debut, fittingly doing so in PSG’s bright yellow change strip, selected as a tribute to the number of Brazilians at the club, he took the time to remember his family on Father’s Day in Brazil.
Team-mate Dani Alves also took the chance to pay tribute to his father.
"Father, for me the most meaningful word of my life and at the same time the gigantic responsibility to teach, care, educate and to lend a hand to raise. Thank you every day for having me father," he said.
"By continuous teaching, by giving me the most important values in a man's life, by preparing myself to survive in the face of all difficulties, by teaching me how to honestly battle in life and, above all, by loving myself unconditionally.
"I could spend all day writing things about you, about my admiration and about how special you are in my life, but I came here on this day to reiterate how much I LOVE YOU."
The full-back, meanwhile, showed off his guitar skills, offering an innovative take on how to play the instrument.
While things seemed to be pretty chilled out in the capital, it proved to be a hectic week for new Nice signing Wesley Sneijder. He completed his move to the Allianz Riviera side on Monday, hoping to reach the Champions League with his new club.
The free agent has arrived at the club after a spell in Turkey with Galatasaray and was pleased with his reception in France.
“Thanks for the warm welcome, Nice,” he said as he posted a video on his Instagram account.
Meanwhile, his son is already getting used to his dad’s new colours. Wesley may not be match fit yet, but he was happy to kick a ball about the house with his kid.
“He makes everybody happy,” he said.
Nice’s big signing last summer was Mario Balotelli, who is currently on the sidelines with a muscular problem. The Italy international forward, though, has been such a success on the south coast that he signed a new two-year deal in the summer.
‘Super Mario’ has never made any secret about his fondness of the sunny Mediterranean city and he took to Instagram to express that sentiment this week as he celebrated his 27th birthday.
If Sneijder enjoys himself as much on the south coast as much as Balotelli has, his move will have been a successful one indeed.