SAO PAULO: Brazilian superstar Neymar's mother, Nadine Gonçalves dove head first into the controversy surrounding her son in the wake of an ad in which he admitted that he sometimes exaggerated his reactions after being fouled at the World Cup.
Gonçalves told her son in an Instagram post on Tuesday that the people who were trying to bring him down were "a minority compared to the people who love you and really know what's in your heart".
"You may think I exaggerate. And sometimes I do exaggerate. But the truth is I suffer on the pitch," Neymar said in an ad for Gillette, reports EFE news agency.
The Brazilian press ripped the 26-year-old soccer superstar after the ad was released, while social media users debated whether his comments were appropriate in light of Brazil's disappointing performance at the World Cup in Russia.
Belgium beat Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup quarter-finals. Gonçalves defended her son, saying that things in life do not always work out the way people want.
"Many times in our lives, things do not happen the way we'd like, mainly our dreams and desires," Gonçalves said.
Neymar, who scored two goals for Brazil at the World Cup, stayed out of the public eye following his team's loss.
The football superstar used the Gillette video to explain his sometimes erratic behaviour to fans.
"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.
In the video, Neymar vows to learn from his experiences and turn over a new leaf.
"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."