Neymar was criticised for his antics during the World Cup.
Brazil superstar Neymar has said that the barrage of criticism he has faced for theatrical rolling around after being fouled at the World Cup was unfair. He said that he should have been better protected.
"People were faster to criticise the one being fouled than the one doing the fouling," he insisted in an interview.
"I went to the World Cup to play, to beat the opposition, not to get kicked."
"The criticism of me was exaggerated, but I'm a big boy, I'm used to dealing with this kind of thing. I can't be the referee and play at the same time, but there are times I wish I could," he said.
Earlier this week, Neymar took a swipe at his critics with a tongue-in-cheek video in which he teaches children how to fall to the ground.
"One, two, three, go!" shouts Neymar on the Instagram video as around a dozen youngsters fall to the ground of a parking lot.
"That's a free-kick!" screams the Brazilian breaking into fits of laughter.
The PSG superstar said: “I saw [the jokes] but I took them with humour. Even yesterday I posted on Instagram a joke with the children about it."
“My football is to dribble, to face the opponent. I can’t stand in front of the opponent and say, ‘My dear, excuse me, I want to score a goal’.
“I can’t do that, I have to dribble past him, I have to try to do something and he will not allow me to go past and he will try to foul me."
“A lot of times I’m faster and lighter than other players and they tackle me, and the referee is there for that.
“Do you think I want to suffer tackles all the time? No, it’s painful, it hurts. After the games I stay back four or five hours putting on ice."
“It’s complicated but if you haven’t experienced that you will never understand.”
During the recent World Cup, the player's antics sparked the "Neymar Challenge" where he was widely mocked.
In Mexico, a football club even rganised a competition in which contestants attempted to roll the entire length of the pitch.
He admitted that he was in mourning after his nation's quarter-final defeat to Belgium at the World Cup. He couldn't look at a ball and didn't want to see any of the remaining matches.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say I didn't want to play again but, I didn't want to see a ball, or to see any more football played," Neymar said.
The Paris Saint Germain forward was talking at his Neymar Praia Grande institute where the Red Bull Neymar Jr 5's (five-a-side-soccer) tournament was being played.
Dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt, with his six-year-old son Davi Lucca sat upon his knee, the striker was however in a relaxed mood.
(With Agencies Inputs)
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