Neymar has spoken out after the recent backlash to his support for Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, who is standing for re-election after coming to power in January 2019, has attracted criticism after being accused of homophobic and misogynistic comments. The far-right president, who has been compared to Donald Trump, won 55 per cent of the votes in the 2018 elections and is looking to win a second term as his country's leader.
Neymar is among a number of Brazilian footballers to show support for the president, with Tottenham forward Lucas Moura another. And, after thanking the ruler for visiting his non-profit youth institute, Neymar has responded to those questioning his support for the 67-year-old.
"They talk about democracy and a lot of things, but when someone has a different opinion he is attacked by the very people who talk about democracy. Go figure," Neymar wrote on Twitter.
"President Bolsonaro, I thank you for your illustrious visit," Neymar previously said in a video shared by Brazil’s communications minister, Fabio Faria. "I wish I was there, unfortunately I am far away. But I will be with you in the next one. I am very happy because you are there."
The first round of votes in the presidential election are due to be cast on October 2. Bolsonaro is going up against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president between 2003-2010.
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Spurs forward Lucas endorsed Bolsonaro in 2018 and has shown his support for the incumbent once more. Other footballers to show their support for the president during his previous run for election included Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, prompting Barcelona - for whom the pair were ambassadors at the time - to take action.
"I have no problem giving my opinion on this," former Paris Saint-Germain star Lucas said. "I am a right-wing conservative, I follow Christian and family principles. I don't see a perfect presidential candidate, but I can't deny that Bolsonaro is the closest to what I believe.
"Lula supports everything I am against. Left-wing ideology, socialism and even Communism which is nothing but Nazism. Supporting Lula is almost impossible."
A number of Tottenham supporters vocally criticised the 30-year-old, who has been a Spurs player since January 2018. "It's not something we dissected on the podcast this week, but Lucas Moura's tweet is despicable and every Spurs fan should be able to say so," said Andrew Stetka, host of the Tottenham Depot podcast.
"Just because he provided one of the more memorable moments in club history doesn't mean we brush his appalling off-field beliefs away... It should also be said, it's obviously not just his tweet. This is not a new-found thing with Lucas. He has a history of this and it should be called out. I'm always shocked at THFC fans that are unware of his record."
