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Brazilian ace Neymar has been pegged to be Brazil's biggest star since Ronaldo and Ronaldinho but his field theatrics have, of late, overshadowed his footballing abilities.
The Paris Saint-Germain faced a lot of criticism from fans and pundits alike for his diving and play-acting at the World Cup in Russia. However, the Brazilian seems to have found an ally in Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Ahead of Liverpool's clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, the former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp have defended Neymar's actions in the World Cup in his pre-match press conference.
Speaking to the media, Klopp said, "I don't know exactly what you are talking about."
"When I saw a few games at the World Cup I know people were talking about that when it looked like he made more of a situation than it was," Klopp said.
"That is a completely normal reaction because players were really going for him and he wants to protect himself and I understand that as well. That's the truth."
"He has to protect himself. If the opponent gets a yellow card, he is closer to a red card. It is smart."
"He obviously gets kicked a lot, so he needs to try and use it as best he can."
"We don't go for him against us," he explained. "We want to play football. We want to win the ball. We don't try to act on these type of things.
"We try to avoid passes to him. It's a big job. I don't know if it's possible to avoid his quality. I'm pretty sure it's not.
"He's an outstanding player. He was not fit at the World Cup. He tried to play for his country without being fit.
"I don't think he's a person who wants to act because if you do that you cannot play the football he plays.
"He got rested at the weekend, so he'll be 100 per cent fresh. He won't be injured. We'll see the full package, the football package, and we have to cope with that."
Football fans have since reacted to Klopp's comments on social media:
