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.
"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.
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"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."
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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.
Source: Skysports
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