Brazil superstar Neymar has admitted to exaggerating fouls in a sponsor's video on Monday after being heavily criticized for diving throughout the World Cup in Russia.
‘You may think I exaggerate. And sometimes I do exaggerate. But the truth is I suffer on the pitch,’ Neymar said in the advert.
The confession of sorts is Neymar's first public comments relating to his behaviour in Russia, where Brazil exited in the quarter-finals to Belgium.
‘But the truth is I did not fall. I fell apart,’ he said. ‘And you can believe me, that hurts more than any step on my operated ankle.’ The Paris Saint-Germain forward also claimed to have made his peace with having critics.
‘I needed a long [time] to accept your criticism,’ Neymar said. ‘I fell. But only he who falls can stand up again.’