Neymar has used a sponsor’s television advert to admit he exaggerated some of his reactions after being fouled during the World Cup in Russia.
The video, published Sunday and broadcast on several Brazilian TV networks, features the 24-year-old forward accepting criticism for the first time and promising to pick himself up.
Neymar scored two goals in the tournament and was not too disappointing until his team got knocked out by Belgium in the quarter-finals, but fans and players have spoken much more about his theatrics on the pitch, which included dives, rolling and frequent arguing with referees.
“You may think I exaggerate. And sometimes I do exaggerate. But the truth is I suffer on the pitch,” Neymar said in the ad sponsored by Gillette.
Since Brazil’s elimination, Neymar only spoke about the defeat in Russia via Instagram. In the advert, he tried to explain why he did not speak right after the Belgium game, which fostered more criticism of his behaviour at home.
“When I leave without giving interviews it is not because I only want the victory laurels. It is because I still haven’t learned to disappoint you. When I look impolite, it is not because I am a spoiled kid. It is because I have not learned how to be frustrated,” Neymar said.
The Paris Saint Germain forward said his football style is akin to a boy’s that “sometime charms the world, sometimes irritates the whole world.”
“You may think I fall too much, but the truth is I did not fall, I fell apart,” he said, in a reference to Brazil’s quarter-finals elimination against Belgium. “That hurts more than any step on an operated ankle.”
The piece ends with Neymar’s pledge to be a new man less than a month after Brazil was knocked out of the World Cup.
“I took long to accept your criticism. I took long to look at myself in the mirror and become a new man,” Neymar said. “I fell, but only who falls can pick himself up.”
Neymar ends his ad asking fans to make a choice.
“You can keep casting stones or throw these stones away and help me stand. When I stand, all of Brazil stands with me,” he said.
On July 20, at his first public appearance after the World Cup, Neymar did not talk about his exaggerations. Instead, he said he was not upset with critics that made fun of his theatrics in Russia.
Meanwhile, new Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel is wary about discussing Neymar in public as he feels he has to be “careful” following the Brazil star’s World Cup criticism.
Neymar was consistently at the centre of attention in Russia, with his performances being put under the microscope and his behaviour often commented on too.
The former Barcelona star received flak for his theatrics at the tournament, with then Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio calling him an “actor” for his overreactions to challenges and fouls .
Tuchel is yet to meet up with the Brazilian since officially taking charge of first-team operations, but is planning on holding private talks with Neymar when he joins up with the squad.
When asked about whether he will talk to Neymar about his perceived theatrics, Tuchel said: “I must be careful what I say when I speak about Neymar.
“Anything I say about him will be done in a closed space with two ears and two mouths only.
“I know that I have a privileged link with Neymar and I am sure that we will be able to do great things.”
Adrien Rabiot is another who has had a somewhat turbulent close-season, having asked to be taken off France’s list of reserve players prior to the World Cup, before then becoming the subject of regular transfer talk.
Barcelona are said to be particularly keen on him and Rabiot’s future is uncertain due to being in the final year of his contract, but Tuchel wants the midfielder to come out and make a decision.