Footballer Neymar has backed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in his bid for re-election.
The Brazilian sports star, 30, posted a ICT Tac video of himself dancing and miming the right-wing politician’s campaign jingle.
He then urged his 8.4 million followers to vote for the incumbent president.
Bolsonaro is currently trailing his rival, leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s first round of voting.
Earlier in the week, the president visited a charity institute in Sao Paulo owned by the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
On this occasion, Neymar appeared in a separate greeting video Bolsonaro but stopped short of endorsing it outright, although he thanked him for his “illustrious visit”.
Bolsonaro was quick to capitalize on the endorsement of the world’s most expensive player, reposting the clip on his Twitter account in a bid to win over undecided voters in the notorious soccer-crazed country.
Neymar is not the only footballer to back Bolsanaro, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura also throwing his support earlier this month, telling YouTube channel Cara a Tapa: “I don’t see a perfect presidential candidate, but I can’t deny that Bolosonaro is the closest I believe.”
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Earlier this week, Neymar helped the Brazil national team beat Ghana and Tunisia in friendlies ahead of the Qatar World Cup which kicks off in November.
Bolsonaro’s rival Lula has also sought celebrity endorsements to bolster his bid for the presidency, receiving support from a number of Brazilian artists as well as international stars such as Mark Ruffalo, Roger Waters and Danny Glover.
The president is currently trailing his challenger, who leads Brazil for two terms between 2003 and 2019, by 12 points.
