Brazil's Neymar under fire

SAO PAULO (AP):

Neymar's decision to use a sponsored advert to admit he sometimes overreacted to fouls at the World Cup has backfired, with Brazilian marketing experts saying it had made the Paris Saint-Germain striker's image even worse.

Under the title A New Man Every Day, Sunday's video was backed by personal-care products maker Gillette and broadcast on several Brazilian TV networks.

"You may think I exaggerate. And sometimes I do exaggerate. But the truth is, I suffer on the pitch," Neymar said in the advert, referring to the constant fouls he received at 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."

Brazil were knocked out by Belgium in the World Cup quarterfinals earlier this month.

Marketing specialists said the advert damaged the 26-year-old player's brand as much as his histrionics did in Russia.

"The whole market waited 15 days since the end of the World Cup to hear from him," Amir Somoggi, a partner at marketing company Sports Value, told The Associated Press.

"He gave some interviews, but did not admit his exaggerations then. Now he has hidden behind a TV commercial to do that. This was great for the sponsor. After all, we are talking about the brand. But it was not good for Neymar, who now has an even bigger image crisis to handle."

Asked to comment on the negativity, Neymar's staff directed The Associated Press to Procter & Gamble, owners of Gillette. The company did not discuss the criticism of the player, or the ad.