Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar has been accused of having a deal with Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro to support him in election in return for writing off the footballer’s tax debt.
Former president Lula da Silva, the centre-left candidate who will run-off against Bolsonaro in the second and final round of Brazil’s elections on 30 October, made the claims on Wednesday. Neymar threw his support behind Bolsonaro ahead of the first round of voting earlier this month.
Bolsonaro, who is standing for re-election after coming to power in January 2019, has attracted criticism after being accused of homophobic and misogynistic comments. The far-right president, who has been compared to Donald Trump, won 55 per cent of the votes in the 2018 elections and is looking to win a second term as his country's leader.
