Rio de Janeiro (AFP)

Long regarded as the prodigy capable of restoring the image of Brazilian football, Neymar finds himself more than ever under pressure, with a rape charge that destabilizes the Seleçao in the run-up to the Copa America.

Since the scandal erupted last Saturday, we only talk about it in Brazil.

Every day its rebound, between surreal unpacking of exchanges and erotic pictures on Instagram, flight of the medical certificate of the alleged victim and contradictory statements of lawyers, football leaders or the father of the player.

The social networks are in turmoil: "Hello, object of my libido", became the new joke between Internet users in Brazil. This expression takes one of the intimate messages sent to the star of Paris SG by the Brazilian who today accuses him, and he unveiled to his 120 million subscribers on Instagram to try to exculpate himself.

On Monday, at a press conference at the Granja Comary training center, coach Tite was bombarded with questions about the Neymar affair.

He tried to dodge them somehow, claiming not to "allow himself to judge" his star striker, that he considers "indispensable" to the quality of play of the Seleçao, but not "irreplaceable" either.

While he was talking, a few dozen meters away, a police car entered the ultra-modern complex nestled in the green mountains of Teresopolis, 100 km from Rio de Janeiro.

Neymar was to be summoned for a deposition: he incurred from one to five years in prison for revealing the naked photos of his accuser without his consent.

A strategy totally assumed by the father of the player: "I prefer a crime on the internet rather than a rape", curiously launched Neymar Senior during an interview at Bandeirantes.

As for his mother Nadine, she advised Neymar to "come back to Jesus".

- "Inconsistent crisis management" -

In an editorial on the Uol website, Renata Mendonça castigates an "inconsistent crisis management" on the part of the Neymar clan.

"To defend himself, he has scrolled all the exchanges that have exposed millions of people intimate photos of the victim, while he could just show some extracts," she laments.

Other soccer stars before him, such as his childhood idol Robinho or Cristiano Ronaldo (the complaint against him has just been withdrawn), faced rape charges and preferred to remain silent.

Some sponsors do not hide their concern, as Nike, who posted his "deep concern".

The image of the Brazilian crack, which has been a spoiled child since the beginning of his career, had already been severely damaged by his simulations during the World Cup-2018 or his altercation with a supporter after the final of the Coupe de France.

Neymar is also not helped by a certain cacophony within the Brazilian federation (CBF).

Tuesday morning, in Paris, its president Rogerio Caboclo had ruled out any possibility that the player will not take part in Copa America, which Brazil will play at home from June 14, a continental title that has eluded him since 2007.

But in the evening, Francisco Noveletto, one of the eight vice presidents of the CBF, told SBT that he was "ready to bet" that Neymar would give up himself to play the tournament, not being " in the psychological conditions of facing the pack of journalists ".

- "Only football can save him" -

World champion alongside the "king" Pelé in the fabulous 1970's Seleçao, Tostao feels a mess, for a player who seems to have never matured when he is already 27 years old.

"It's terrible for Brazilian football to see such a phenomenal talent lost in the world of celebrities without proper guidance," he wrote in a column published Wednesday in the daily Folha de S. Paulo.

Tostao fears that Neymar will be booed Wednesday night, during the friendly match against Qatar, in Brasilia, "especially if the team plays badly".

However, on his arrival Tuesday night at the hotel where Seleçao is staying in the Brazilian capital, the striker was warmly cheered by dozens of supporters.

"The only thing that can save Neymar is football," said Paulo Vinicius Coelho, commentator for Fox Sports.

"The problem is that when we talk about him, we talk about everything except his game." Why he went to Rio for the carnival, why he gave a blow to the supporter But the real question is : what is he giving on the ground? ", he concludes.

? 2019 AFP