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David Beckham has spoken of his disappointment to see his friend Neymar's World Cup participation end after he was carried off on a stretcher, and posted a picture montage of the two together, including one taken when the "incredible" forward was just a boy.
Neymar will play no further part in the World Cup after breaking a bone in his back after a wild challenge from the Colombian defender Juan Zuiga during Brazil's 2-1 win in the last 16 on Friday night.
The 22-year-old forward initially feared that he would be paralysed after the incident, which has ruled him out of action for up to six weeks.
While Neymar has dramatically changed in the pictures as he has grown from boy to man, Beckham, now aged 39, looks exactly the same.
Show all 9 1 /9Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Neymar scores his first against Croatia After going a goal behind in the very first match of the tournament courtesy of a Marcelo own goal, Neymar got his tally off the mark as he scored from long range to drag Brazil level.
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup He adds his second in controversial circumstances Despite a stop-start, jerky run up, Neymar converts from the penalty spot to give Brazil the lead and they would go on to secure a 3-1 victory. However, the Croatians were infuriated by what they perceived as a dive from striker Fred to win the penalty. Not that it mattered to Neymar, who duly took his chance from the spot.
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup But was he lucky to be on the pitch? A stray elbow on Luka Modric could have warranted a red card for Neymar, but he escaped with a yellow and was on hand to score later in the match when the opportunity arose.
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Tears of pride Neymar in tears during the Brazil national anthem before the game with Mexico, such is the importance of the occasion
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Neymar left frustrated against Mexico An unimpressive Brazil side were left hugely frustrated by Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. In a man-of-the-match display, Ochoa kept out a close range header from Neymar to see the match end as a goalless draw.
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Back on form and back in the goals You can’t keep a quality player quiet for long though, and unfortunately for Cameroon, their dismal World Cup campaign came to an end at the hands of another Neymar brace. Taking his tally to four goals, Neymar put himself in the reckoning for the Golden Boot, although his injury has put paid to that dream for now.
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Caught with his pants down Despite being the poster boy of Fifa’s World Cup, the governing body confirmed that they were investigating Neymar for allegedly breaching sponsorship rules by partially showing the top of his underwear that may or may not have been part of a sponsorship stunt. Eventually, Fifa conformed they would take no further action.
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Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup Neymar’s penalty prowess sees off Chile After a hard-fought 120 minutes, Brazil and Chile were locked at 1-1 courtesy of David Luiz and Alexis Sanchez strikes. Mauricio Pinilla and Sanchez both saw their penalty shootout efforts saved by Julio Cesar, but Willian and Hulk followed suit. With the weight of a nation on his shoulders, Neymar coolly slotted home from the spot, which turned out to be the match-winner as Gonzalo Jara then hit the post to send Brazil through to the quarter-finals.
Neymar's best and worst moments of the 2014 World Cup One assist, no goals and a trip to hospital sees Neymar done The forward had seen his impact in the quarter-final against Colombia somewhat limited due to the rough and tumble nature of the match – although the Brazilians were just as guilty of using the tactic against James Rodriguez. His corner allowed Thiago Silva to bundle the ball across the line for the opener, before Juan Camilo Zuniga’s ill-timed knee in the back cracked on of Neymar’s vertebrae and ended his run at this year’s World Cup.
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The Neymar-less Brazil take on Germany in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte tomorrow night.
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