Neymar's €220million move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain took football finance to new frontiers and also robbed El Clasico of one of its great talking points.
The battle between 'MSN' and 'BBC' had become woven into the fabric of European football's headline fixture, but it shall be no more - unless Manuel Neuer pitches up to play in attack at Camp Nou (which wouldn't be the maddest thing the German No. 1 has done).
On the face of it Barcelona, pipped to the title by Zinedine Zidane's side last term, are coping just fine without their Brazilian star. They sit 11 points clear of Madrid atop La Liga before Saturday's trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.
But how has Barca's game changed since Neymar's departure? How are Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez coping without their cohort?
THE NUMBERS
Barca remain unbeaten in La Liga before they head to the Bernabeu, winning 13 of their 16 matches this season, so it would appear that Neymar's absence has been negligent.
In possession of a third star striker, Barca's 22.78 per cent shooting accuracy outstrips the 18.85 that they have managed this season, with Suarez in particular struggling.
MESSI MAGIC STILL SHINES
Hands up if you can't wait for ! December 20, 2017
CAN BARCA KEEP IT UP?
It looks like Barca have indeed moved on from Neymar. Valverde has often paired Suarez and Messi in attack with the much-derided Paulinho operating as an effective box-to-box operator behind them as Barca shift away from their trademark 4-3-3 ideals.
Where Barca could previously rely on Neymar to unlock a door, they are now subject to more 'Messidependencia' than ever before.
It was only a chipped pass that would have landed on a sixpence that let Jordi Alba in to deny Valencia a win recently and a 0-0 draw against Juventus meandered meaninglessly with Messi benched for the most part.
Ousmane Dembele has been robbed of the chance to prove himself by injury, but a sense prevails that Barca will need to fill Neymar's boots to ease the burden on their attacking leader.
