Petista said on Friday (June 19) that the national team’s number 10 works “home office” during the World Cup; Chinese fans criticize the statement
The president’s (PT) statement on Friday (June 19, 2026) about Neymar being the had repercussions on Chinese social media. The PT member referred to the fact that the number 10 of the Brazilian team is recovering from an injury and has not yet taken to the field in the tournament.
On Weibo, a social network similar to X in China, posts from pages that published Lula’s statement have hundreds of comments. Although some considered Lula’s comment funny, the majority of publications defended Neymar and criticized the Brazilian president’s stance.
A theme raised by some Chinese users is that Lula criticized Neymar because the player had already supported the former president (PL). In 2023, Bolsonaro handed over the “medal of the 3 ‘is’: imbrochable, immortal and inedible” to Neymar.
Read some comments on the posts translated into Portuguese below:
Neymar is one of the most famous football players in China. He has already done advertising for Chinese brands and has his image printed on a brand of energy drinks that is easily found in convenience stores.
When talking to some Chinese people and saying that they are Brazilian, it is common to have the following response: “Ah, like Neymar”.
On the same day as Lula’s statement, the senator and presidential candidate (PL-RJ) took to social media in defense of Neymar. In the video, Flávio also 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.
Watch Lula’s statement on video (1min13s):
