Statement was given after the Brazilian team’s game against Haiti; Senator said the president uses public funds to spend on travel
The senator and pre-candidate for President (PL-RJ) published a video on social media, on Friday (June 19, 2026), in defense of the player Neymar Jr., after comments made by the president (PT) about the athlete’s absence from the 2026 World Cup games.
The senator’s statement was published after the Brazilian team’s match against Haiti, valid for the 2nd round of the group stage of the World Cup.
On Friday (June 19), during an event in Belo Horizonte, Lula was talking to a child when talking about gender equality and praising the player Marta, voted the best in the world 6 times, when he asked who Brazil had “good at ball”.
The child replied: “Neymar”. Afterwards, the president commented on the attacker’s absence and cited a post seen on social media. “Neymar isn’t even playing. I saw something yesterday: Neymar is the first home office player in the world”he stated.
In a video published later, Flávio criticized the president’s speech.
Watch (1min12s):
Neymar is a star and Lula is a tourist president. Only one of them has space in the Brazilian heart and you can be sure: Brazil is on their side and rooting for the
— Flávio Bolsonaro (@FlavioBolsonaro)
“Just when we think we’ve seen everything, Lula comes along and manages to score another own goal”he declared. The senator also came to the player’s defense and criticized federal government spending.
“You may or may not like Neymar as a player. For me, he is a great. It is difficult to defend Lula, in his mandate in airplane mode, always traveling, staying in luxury hotels. Stay at home, Lula, and stop wasting Brazilians’ money”said Flávio.
