Neymar's Father Hits Out at 'Vultures,' Slams Critics After PSG's UCL Defeat

Neymar's father has slammed his son's detractors after the Brazilian superstar received heavy criticism for his performance in Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

The first-leg loss put PSG on the back foot in their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie, and Neymar took plenty of blame for the defeat, being accused of not being a team player by former Brazil international Walter Casagrande on Redacao SporTV (via ESPN FC).

Neymar Sr. responded with a lengthy Instagram post, in which he labelled his son's critics "vultures" and backed the PSG forward to bounce back from the Real defeat (via MailOnline's James Dutton):

"In a war there are those who feed off victories and those who, like vultures, feed off the carcasses of the defeated. My son has been battling since he was a child, always fighting fair, always avoiding the vultures, always rising again stronger. 

"We lost a battle but as for the war, we'll see, because it will last as long as we're on the field. And be sure ... like a phoenix he will be reborn, prepared for all the fighting ahead! As for you, vulture, you will be hungry. And there will be nothing left to swallow his words, as rotten as carcasses."

PSG are in danger of exiting the Champions League in the first knockout round for the second successive season. They fell at the quarter-final stage in the four seasons prior to 2016-17.

Neymar's arrival at the Parc des Princes from Barcelona for £200 million in August was seen by many as a huge boost to PSG's Champions League-winning credentials.

But the 26-year-old will have to produce a similar performance to the one he put in for Barca at the same stage last term to turn the tie around against the two-time defending champions.

On that occasion, Neymar's Barcelona went into the second leg of their last-16 clash with PSG trailing 4-0. The Brazil international inspired the Catalan giants to a 6-1 victory to send them through to the last eight.

PSG's deficit is not as severe, but they will need Neymar at his best for the return leg at the Parc des Princes on March 6.

Les Parisiens went ahead through Adrien Rabiot at the Bernabeu, but a Cristiano Ronaldo double and late Marcelo goal put Los Blancos firmly in the driving seat.