Neymar explains why he cried on the pitch after Brazil’s World Cup win over Costa Rica

Neymar dropped to his knees and burst into tears while holding his face when the final whistle sounded in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Costa Rica.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward had a stressful afternoon on Friday, and showed signs of frustration throughout the encounter, which Brazil won in injury time.

ITV footage captured Neymar arguing with the referee on the pitch, reacting badly to decisions going against Brazil, and even confronting the referee in the tunnel at half time.

He argued with him for a few moments as Brazil backroom staff stood in a circle around the pair before Marcelo intervened by apologising to the referee and dragging Neymar away.

After the game the cameras lingered on Neymar as he sobbed into his hands, causing confusion among fans on social media.

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However, the world’s most expensive player has since explained why he broke down in tears, posting a message on both Twitter and Instagram.

He wrote: “Not everyone knows what I’ve come through to get here.

“The cry is joy, overcoming. In my life things have never been easy, would not be now right! The dream continues, not dream, OBJECTIVE! Congratulations on the match.”

Philippe Coutinho found the back of the net for Brazil in the 91st minute of Friday’s match.

Neymar had the final say moments later with a close-range tap-in to make it two.