Neymar backs Bolsonaro in Brazil vote
Soccer Football - International Friendly - Brazil v Tunisia - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 27, 2022 Brazil's Neymar reacts as a laser is shone onto his face REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro got a celebrity
endorsement Thursday for his re-election bid from football superstar Neymar,
who posted a video on TikTok of himself dancing to a pro-Bolsonaro campaign
song.
Grinning, the Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil striker,
arguably Brazil's most famous celebrity, flashed the number 22 - Bolsonaro's
candidate number - with his fingers as
he rocked out to the electronic dance jingle, three days from the far-right
incumbent's election showdown against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva.
"Vote, vote, and press 'confirm' for 22, that's
Bolsonaro," goes the song, a reference to Brazil's electronic voting
machines -- which the president alleges, without evidence, are plagued by
fraud.
Bolsonaro wasted no time retweeting the Neymar seal of
approval.
Neymar, 30, had previously stayed out of the fray for
Sunday's polarizing election, in which Lula leads in opinion polls.
But he sent a video message to Bolsonaro Wednesday after the
president visited the footballer's charitable children's foundation.
"Hello, President Bolsonaro... I wanted to thank you for
your illustrious visit," he said on Instagram after Bolsonaro visited the
Neymar Jr. Institute, a non-profit organization the football star founded in
2014.
It runs educational, cultural and sports programs for 3,000
underprivileged children.
Bolsonaro backers have adopted the yellow-and-green jersey of
Brazil's national team as a symbol of support for the president, along with the
Brazilian flag.

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