Neymar has spoken at a Press conference about the back injury suffered against Colombia and suggested he could have been paralysed.
The Barcelona forward had to be stretchered off in Brazil’s 2-1 quarter-final win after a challenge from Camilo Zuniga left him with a fractured vertebrae, ending his World Cup a game before the hosts were humiliated by Germany.
“Anyone who knows football knows it was not a normal tackle,” a tearful Neymar insisted, according to AS.
“If you want to stop a counter-attack, what you do is push. It was a tackle that didn’t correspond to the situation of the game.
“Many say I’m a diver but I know how to protect myself and there was no way to do it. If the blow had been two inches lower, I could be in a wheelchair now.”
Despite his unhappiness with Zuniga’s tackle, Neymar added that he doesn’t have any lingering ill-feeling towards the Napoli player.
“I don’t hold grudges or hate him. He called the next day to apologise to me and assured me that he didn’t want to hurt me,” Neymar continued.
Without Neymar, and suspended captain Thiago Silva, Brazil lost the semi-final to Germany 7-1, a defeat Neymar was at a loss to explain and one he felt particularly strongly.
“It’s painful. It’s going to hurt for a long time, but it will pass,” he said.
“We will bring joy to the Brazilian people.
“It was inexplicable. It’s easy to make judgements after the game but it’s hard when you’re on the pitch.
“I know what it feels like when nothing goes right. I talked to my teammates and don’t know how to explain what happened.”
Neymar added that falling short of winning the World Cup is a disappointment that is felt by everyone in Brazil.
“I wanted to be in the final and become champion in our country but we failed to make history,” he said.
“We want to know we had a good season, we played the best football, that our football was regular, and so we got to the semi-finals, not a Brazil football team, which is above and loved by everyone.
“It’s all over now and you have to raise your head and end up smiling at the Netherlands.
“People say we’re embarrassed but I don’t feel that way. I am proud of my teammates.
“Now we all had to weep and mourn and be overcome by our fans.
“I am very happy to be here to see my friends. It’s not the situation I would have wanted but at least I can be with them.
“We began together here and we end together here. Saturday [the third-place play-off] will end with pride. A loss shouldn’t make us hide.”
Neymar also moved to clarify comments made by his agent, Wagner Ribeiro, who attacked Coach Felipe Scolari on Twitter in the aftermath of Brazil’s exit.
“I want to make it clear that when it comes to me, my father speaks for me,” he insisted.
“Keep in mind what comes out of my mouth and out of my father’s. His words are his.
“I admire and love him but I don’t agree with his words. Seriously, I don’t accept what he said.”
