Life after Lionel Messi officially began for Barcelona on Sunday evening. 

The Blaugrana defeated Real Sociedad 4-2 at the Camp Nou in their opening game of the new La Liga season - and while no player could ever replace Messi, the performance of Memphis Depay certainly gave Barca fans cause for positivity after a dark few weeks for the club.

The 27-year-old Dutch international was only eligible to play in the fixture after Gerard Pique agreed to take a substantial pay cut. As has been well publicised, Barcelona are currently facing big financial problems, even after the departure of Messi.

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La Liga chiefs had been refusing to allow the 13-time European champions to register any new players until they considerably reduced their mammoth wage bill. Pique's willingness to accept a reduced salary allowed both Memphis and Eric Garcia to take the field against Sociedad.

It took Depay less than 20 minutes to repay that selfless act, providing a perfectly-weighted ball in for Pique to head the Catalan giants into a deserved lead.

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Enter Giveaway

That assist was far from Memphis' only contribution on his competitive debut for Barca either. A viral Twitter video from user @TotalLM10i showcased Depay's creative brilliance for his new club in full.

The match was barely three minutes old when the former Lyon man pulled off an audacious flick on the turn to beat a Sociedad defender - and he continued to pull the strings for Ronald Koeman's men throughout the game.

Although he didn't get on the scoresheet this weekend, Depay was instrumental in many of Barcelona's best moves, suggesting that the club might have found themselves a player that can help lead them in the final third during this post-Messi era.

You can see all the highlights from Memphis' fine performance here...

After all the controversy surrounding Messi's exit, the Camp Nou was far from sold out, with some supporters opting to stay away in protest at the way in which the club has been run in recent times.

The 20,000 that were in attendance, though, gave Memphis a standing ovation when he was withdrawn in the 90th minute. If Depay can continue to turn on the style like this every week, then he will become a fan favourite among the Barca faithful.

Jules Kounde to Chelsea done this week (The Football Terrace)