Rodrygo sent a heartfelt message to Neymar, apologizing for his wrong penalty take that cost Brazil their World Cup ambition.
Brazil met a shocking defeat against Croatia in Qatar World Cup quarterfinals after Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic put up a world-class exhibition in the penalty shootouts.
The 21-year-old Rodrygo was the first player to take the penalty shootout for Brazil, but his effort brought the Canarinha closer to elimination as Livakovic parried his shot.
Thereafter, Marquinhos missed the fourth kick which sealed the Brazilian’s World Cup elimination fate.
Rodrygo, who saw his penalty saved by Dominik Livakovic was consoled by his Real Madrid teammate Modric after he broke down in tears while Croatia sprinted off in celebration.
Meanwhile, after the exit, Rodrygo, in his uncontrollable depression sent a message out on social media, apologizing for his fault and directly messaged Neymar to apologize for thwarting his World Cup dream.
In his message to the PSG superstar which was posted to Neymar’s Instagram story, the 21-year-old Rodrygo apologized and urged Neymar to go on with the national team despite their failure in 2022.
Part of the message from Rodrygo to Neymar reads: “Sorry for everything and for postponing your dream too. I hope that you continue with us so we can conquer together.”
The disappointing loss to Croatia is weighing heavily on the Brazilian team, and the players believe they had let the 30-year-old PSG and Brazil legend Neymar down.
What seems like one of Neymar’s best chances to achieve his ultimate pursuit of winning the World Cup for Brazil was thwarted by underdogs, Croatia.
Neymar, now 30 will be 34 by the time the 2026 World Cup swings around and with his injury history, it’s difficult to tell whether he’ll be the same prolific player as he ages.
However, his Brazilian teammates who still believe in his dexterity have urged Neymar to return for another International duty in 2026.
While the Brazilians are still in their mourning state following their exit from Qatar World Cup and coach Tite announcing his resignation, Neymar has taken time to send an emotional goodbye message to the veteran coach.
Neymar thanked the former Brazil coach Tite in an emotional open letter he shared on his Instagram page.
Neymar said: “Before we met in person, we played a lot against, and can I tell you? I thought you were annoying! Because you put together a team to tag me, you would do everything to beat me and you still spoke ill of me. But destiny is funny, huh?”
The PSG superstar also wrote about how he felt Tite had deserved to win the World Cup.
He added: “We had beautiful moments but we also had moments that hurt us a lot and the latter will hurt us for a long time. You deserved to be crowned with this cup”.
The former Barcelona star believes Brazil, being regarded as the World Cup favorite deserves to win the trophy but agrees God knows best.
He said: “We all deserved it for everything we did and for everything we gave up to try to achieve our biggest dream. But God didn’t want it that way, patience. God has given us EVERYTHING!”
While Neymar and Tite both failed to win the Qatar World Cup together, Tite did at least taste international success when he led Brazil to lift the Copa America in 2019.
