Neymar said he was rooting for himself when asked if he would be supporting club-mates Kylian Mbappe or Lionel Messi in the wake of Brazil's World Cup exit.
Brazil looked set to make the semi-finals in Qatar when Neymar put them ahead against Croatia at Education City Stadium midway through extra time.
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But Croatia prevailed 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out following Bruno Petkovic's leveller to leave the pre-tournament favourites' hopes in tatters.
While Brazil are out, Neymar's Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Mbappe of France and Messi of Argentina both still had a chance of winning the tournament when the Selecao squad spoke to reporters after their defeat.
13 - Brazil were the 13th side to go 1-0 up in extra-time of a World Cup knockout stage match, but the first of those 13 to be eliminated. Unlucky. pic.twitter.com/93rNHxzUdv
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 9, 2022
Neymar, though, was not best pleased when asked if he had paid any mind to their fortunes.
"That's hard to talk [about] now," said the 30-year-old, who had been in tears at full-time. "I was rooting for myself."
Neymar's goal, which capped a sublime move started by the PSG star, took him level with the great Pele on 77 international goals for the Selecao.