Neymar’s sponsor Nike says it’s ‘very concerned’ about rape allegations as Mastercard drops Brazil star from ad campaign – The Sun
NEYMAR'S sponsor Nike says it's "very concerned" about the rape allegations against the football star – as Mastercard reportedly axed him from an ad campaign.
The sportswear giant spoke out after a woman claimed the £900,000-a-week PSG forward raped her in a Paris hotel room.
It comes as the Brazil star was questioned by detectives for two hours for allegedly posting X-rated photos of his rape accuser on social media.
A spokesperson for Nike said: "We are very concerned by the recent allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
The Paris Saint Germain star, who strongly denies the sex assault allegations, claims the woman is a liar and is trying to extort him.
Using crutches because of an injured right ankle, Neymar told reporters after his testimony: "I only want to thank the support and messages that everybody sent."
Neymar has a contract with Nike until 2022 and an option to continue until 2024.
While specific financial details of that deal are not known, it was revealed in 2011 that he has very lucrative bonuses tied to performance.
Meanwhile, Mastercard said in a statement it was suspending its use of the striker until the situation had been “cleared up”, according to the newspaper O Estado de S Paulo.
It comes as Neymar was photographed outside a police station after testifying in Rio de Janeiro last night.
He arrived in a wheelchair and entered the station on crutches after suffering an injury to his right ankle during Brazil's game with Qatar in Brasilia on Wednesday.
His lawyer, Maira Fernandes, told Reuters news agency: "Neymar has just given a statement. He made the point of coming as soon as he could to give a statement, to clarify everything that needed to be clarified.
"We are absolutely confident that we will prove the innocence of our client… The process was thorough but he provided all the clarifications that were to be provided."
I appreciate the support and all the messages that the world has sent, my friends, my fans, that the world is with me. I want to say thank you for the well wishes, and say that I have felt very loved
Speaking at the door of the police station, Neymar said: "I appreciate the support and all the messages that the world has sent, my friends, my fans, that the world is with me. I want to say thank you for the well wishes, and say that I have felt very loved."
And yesterday, video emerged allegedly showing Neymar’s rape accuser lashing out at him in a hotel room.
The dramatic footage was released as 26-year-old Najila Trindade went on TV to repeat claims she was raped.
The Police hit Every Breath You Take can be heard playing in the background as the pair fall onto the bed together for what at first seems to be the end to a romantic evening.
The clip is reported to have been filmed the day after the alleged sex attack.
A slap and muffled voices can also be heard as the pair drift out of the range of a camera that seems to have been left in the bathroom – before Najila is seen getting up from the bed where she them begins to slap Neymar.
The footballer's dad Neymar Santos told Brazilian station Record TV after they showed footage of the confrontation between the footballer and his rape accuser: “I don’t think I have to defend my son at all. The images speak for themselves.
“The video is only going to show that Neymar was assaulted. She provokes an aggression so that he responds, but he realises that everything that was happening was a set-up.”
He added: “When my son enters the room, everything is already been filmed. It would be good for the investigation and for us that the whole video emerges. That’s what the police are trying to do, find all the images that she has.”
In the clip the footballer can be seen putting his feet up to the woman’s face and trying to grab her wrists as he moves towards her.
The one-minute six second video finishes without it being made clear what the outcome of the sudden burst of violence was.
Brazilian media reported Neymar had said: “No, no, no, no, no, don’t hit me” after the sound of the first slap which is not picked up on camera and Najila responded by replying: “No? Are you going to hit me then? Are you going to hit me?”
As she hit him twice she shouts at him: “But I’m going to hit you. Do you know why I’m going to hit you? Do you know why? Do you know why? Because you assaulted me yesterday. You left me here alone.”
The footage is understood to be a small segment of a longer seven-minute video that has not yet been fully published.
It was not immediately clear what the rest of the video contains.
Najila’s lawyer Danilo Garcia de Andrade was quoted in Brazilian media as saying: “What she’s told me is that she needed proof of that assault, that the slap was what Neymar had done to her previously and that she got him into the room again and filmed the scene.”
The footballer’s accuser went on Brazilian TV yesterday to claim Neymar paid for her to stay at the five-star Sofitel Paris Arc Du Triumph after they chatted on Instagram.
She admitted to wanting to have sex with him when she agreed to meet him, but added when asked if she was a victim of rape: “Aggression followed by rape.”
Her former lawyers said earlier in the week they had dropped her after failing to reach an out-of-court settlement with Neymar, but insisted she had never mentioned rape to them in the beginning and had spoken only of an alleged assault which had left her with bruising on her legs and bottom.
Neymar’s dad has confirmed the authenticity of the video showing the confrontation between his son and Najila – but insisted he had been tricked by his accuser.
Insisting she had forced the scene, he said: “No one attacks from below.”
POLICE PROBE
Neymar, ruled out of the Copa America which starts on June 14 through injury, is facing a separate police probe over his controversial decision to defend himself from his rape accuser by publishing photos of her and messages they had exchanged before her decision to go on TV.
'ATTEMPTED EXTORTION'
Neymar’s management team have called the rape allegations “an attempted extortion.”
In an interview with Band TV, with his lawyers present, the footballer’s father Neymar senior said: “My son is a victim of attempted extortion and this is the reason why he released the messages.
Neymar's sponsors
The Brazilian is the face of more than 30 companies around the globe and over the weekend it was announced he had become a global ambassador for the Qatar National Bank.
According to Forbes, Neymar made around £14m in sponsorship money in 2018 on top of the £57m he made in salary from the Ligue 1 giants.
Neymar has no problem working with a variety of brands in a whole different range of sectors.
His image rights company, NR Sports, even has an Instagram page with so you can keep up to date with all the latest commercial news on Planet Neymar.
His principle sponsor is American sportswear giant Nike, with whom he has a contract until 2022 and an option to continue until 2024.
While specific financial details of that deal are not known, it was revealed in 2011 that he has very lucrative bonuses tied to performance.
Winning the Ballon d'Or will earn the Brazilian a bonus of around £730,000, increasing to a cap of about £3million.
Winning the World Cup is much less lucrative, however, only earning Neymar a Nike bonus of £36,500.
The former Barcelona forward made waves in 2016 when he became the first footballer to wear the famous Air Jordan 'Jumpman' logo.
There are clothing deals with Replay Jeans and an underwear deal with C&A – the Brazilian completes his look with a watch from Gaga Milano.
He is an ambassador for McDonald's and Red Bull while his clean-shaven look comes from a deal with Gillette.
“He preserved the name of the girl and her image but (my son) had to defend himself. He’s been accused of rape and this is a crime he has not committed.
“He didn’t have a choice. He preferred to commit an internet crime than be accused of rape.
“This was something he had to defend himself from quickly. It’s better that he tells the truth now to show what really happened.”
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