From Neymar to Paulinho or Rivaldo, soccer players and old Brazilian glories have declared their vote for this Sunday’s presidential elections in the last hours, divided between the progressive former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
«I and my family are in favor of Bolsonaro. Do your part too. God, country, family and freedom. We are together », affirmed Rivaldo, former player of Deportivo de La Coruña and Barcelona, who went to vote this Sunday with the national team shirt, as the president has requested, according to what he published on his social networks.
Neymar, the top star of the Brazilian team, was one of the first to fully enter this polarized campaign with a video in which he danced to the chords of a musical theme in support of the current head of state, who aspires to re-election.
“Vote, vote and confirm: 22 is Bolsonaro,” said the song, referring to the number that Brazilians must type if they want to vote for the retired Army captain, who on the eve of the elections visited the Neymar Institute, near the city of Santos .
From there, other soccer players have published their political preferences on their social networks with a view to the presidential race, for which Lula starts as the great favorite, who could even be elected president this very day 2, in the first round, according to several polls. .
Along the same lines as shirt 10, Thiago Silva, central defender of Chelsea, adopted one of Bolsonaro’s campaign slogans: “God, country, family and freedom.”
“I hope that democracy is respected and everyone can exercise their citizenship freely. The Brazilian people deserve to be happy!” said the international with the Canarinha.
Felipe Melo, Fluminense midfielder, is also a strong supporter of Bolsonaro, nostalgic for the military dictatorship (1964-1985) who during the covid-19 pandemic denied the seriousness of the disease, which has caused nearly 700,000 deaths in the country. .
“Doing my part. Brazil above everything and God above all,” said the former Inter, Galatasaray and Juventus player on his Instagram, paraphrasing another of the president’s mottos.
Without citing Bolsonaro, Daniel Alves, side of Mexico’s Pumas, also acknowledged that he “loves” that “Brazil above everything and God above all” and encouraged the population to go to the polls.
“Feel the pride of wearing the colors that represent us. There is one thing that is above any candidate, which is love for our country,” said the former Barcelona, Seville and PSG player, among others.
But there are also those who have shown their strong support for Lula, who governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010 and spent 580 days in prison for corruption convictions that were annulled last year for procedural errors. Paulinho, from German Bayer Leverkusen, is one of them.
“Love of the country, damn it. Love to the people. If it is not in the name of the people, it is not in the name of the country. Lula in the first round! Out Bozo (for Bolsonaro), “said the young midfielder.
Likewise, the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) was supported by the former selector and former coach of Real Madrid Vanderlei Luxemburg, who branded Bolsonaro a “sociopath.”
The former mechanical turner was also supported by former players Juninho Pernambucano, Walter Casagrande, who in the 1980s was part of a pro-democracy movement promoted by Corinthians players, and Raí, formerly of PSG.
In addition to Rivaldo, other former Brazilian soccer players preferred, instead, to join the bandwagon of Bolsonarismo, such as Julio Baptista and Robinho, sentenced by the Italian Supreme Court to nine years in prison for raping a woman in 2013, when he was playing for Milan.
Baptista, formerly of Sevilla and Real Madrid, said that “today is an important day for democracy” in his country and stressed the need to “respect” the opinions of each one and “know how to live with differences.”
“My full support for President Jair Bolsonaro; today we are God, Country and Family”, affirmed Baptista, repeating the motto of the Brazilian far-right leader, who became popular in the Italy of “Duce” Benito Mussolini.
EFE
