Watch: Manchester United Beaten by Neymar Goal in U.S. Preseason Friendly

In what may be one of his final games in the famous blue and garnet of Barcelona, Neymar provided an inkling of the giant hole he will leave at Camp Nou.

The Brazil international struck just after the half-hour mark against Manchester United at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, on Wednesday evening. It was the only goal of the game as Barcelona defeated a below-par United 1-0.

It was not one of the finer goals Neymar has or will score. Antonio Valencia should have dealt with Lionel Messi's throughball; instead, the right back slipped. Neymar pirouetted, and slid a shot past the unmoving body of David De Gea. Even he stumbled mid-spin, though United's defenders were lumbering if they weren't statues and so unable to stop him.

A goal of no great grace, then, but in this case there is symbolism beneath the aesthetics. Neymar, 25, made the front page of L'Equipe this morning alongside a blaring headline, "Paris is negotiating with Barcelona."

The newspaper didn't use his name, a nice touch, rather a giant picture of his head. Neymar's image is probably more famous than his name; it's difficult to believe Paris Saint-Germain won't have taken his vast marketing potential into account as it pursues what will be a world-record transfer.

Le Parisien reported on Thursday morning that there were no longer "any doubts" at P.S.G. that Neymar will arrive this summer. "The question is no longer if he will come to the PSG, but rather when," the newspaper reported a source inside P.S.G. as saying.

The saga meant that for once, United's performance was not the main point of concern. In the incongruous surrounds of an NFL field, was a reminder of all that Barcelona may yet lose.

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