Neymar may have made headlines for his diving antics in almost every game of the World Cup, but today's story shows that the Brazilian ace is truly a good guy.
The world's most expensive player got word of Gilberto Martínez's story, one of several Mexican fans that made the trip to Russia. What made Gilberto's story so special was that he had planned to make the trip with his wife and two kids, Diego (8) and Mia(6), but he had to make the trip without them, as they died in a traffic accident two months before the start of the tournament.
Gilberto's story caught the attention of Mexican goalie Guillermo Ochoa, who made sure Gilberto was granted a permission to step on the pitch before the game between El Tri and Germany. Furthermore, Ochoa made sure that Neymar got word of his story, since the late Diego asked his dad to buy tickets for Brazil's game against Costa Rica, so he could watch Neymar play.
Before the game between Brazil and El Tri, which saw A Canarinha defeating Mexico 2-0, Neymar sent Gilberto a touching message of support. Gilberto shared it with the world, showing a different side of Neymar's personality.
Here's Neymar's video, along with the proper translation.
"Thank you Neymar for this kind gesture to me and my boy Diego, big hug to you"
Gracias @neymarjr por este gesto conmigo y con mi hijo Diego un abrazo enorme pic.twitter.com/YUbdKytlkf
— Gilberto Martinez (@gilmartinez64) July 2, 2018
"Hello Gilberto, I'm here to say hello, and to thank you for your affection. I can't imagine how you've spent the last few months and how hard it's been for you, but you have to be strong for your family and fulfill your dream. Thank you for your words and for being fond of Brazilian football, I hope to keep playing like this while being happy on the pitch, because having fans like your boy or mine is what makes me happy."
