NEYMAR has hit back at criticism he looks ‘out of shape’ by revealing he has just been wearing a bigger shirt.
The Brazilian, 29, has played just over an hour of Paris Saint-Germain’s first four Ligue 1 games of the season – missing around 300 minutes of action.
Mauricio Pochettino opted to take him off midway through the second half of their 2-0 win over Reims last weekend – replacing him with new signing Lionel Messi.
Shortly after being hauled off, Spanish outlet AS labelled the Brazilian ‘out of shape’.
And Neymar was yet again slammed for his weight while away on international duty, during Brazil’s 1-0 win over Chile.
But Neymar explained away his current physical appearance as being the result of his shirt size.
On his Instagram story he said that he was wearing a ‘size G’ [large] shirt as oppose to his usual ‘M’ [medium].
He then insisted he would ask for a medium before his next match and added a series of laughing emojis.
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Neymar had previously been criticised for his weight when a photo of him on a yacht emerged during the summer.
The photo was taken after Brazil’s heartbreaking 1-0 Copa America final defeat to Argentina.
The two teams will meet again in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
Neymar boasts a prolific record for his country, netting 68 times in 111 games for the five-time world champions.
Brazil currently sit top of South America’s World Cup qualifying group having won all seven of their games.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
