Neymar, fresh from his first win with Paris St. Germain and his world-record signing for the club, became a goodwill ambassador for Handicap International on Tuesday, pledging to work for millions who are “less visible” but deserve equality.
The Brazilian forward, whose 222 million-euro ($259.72 million) signing from Barcelona this month doubled the world-record transit fee, mounted a huge statue of a chair outside the U.N. in Geneva that symbolises landmine victims.
He kicked a soccer ball to fans standing below and into the U.N. grounds. Surrounded by his parents, Neymar Santos Senior and Nadine Santos, he wore a black baseball cap and Handicap International black t-shirt with the inscription “Repair Lives.” “I think that the people who make the world’s problems are us – we humans. It is human beings who make the bad changes in the world. That’s why people are here in this room today,” Neymar said.
“Everyone wants a better world. Millions want equal rights; they want to be treated equally. That what we are here for and that is what we are aiming for, to help the others.” On his part, Managing Director of Handicap International, Manuel Patrouillard, said, “What people may not realize is that beyond this exceptional sportsman, there is, of course, a conscience and a voice. A voice which Neymar Jr. decided to put in service of others and as it happens in service of those who are the most vulnerable, those which our organization works with.”
“A voice which Neymar Jr. decided to put in service of others and as it happens in service of those who are the most vulnerable, those which our organisation works with.” The charity was founded in 1982 to assist 6,000 Cambodian refugees who had lost limbs and later co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in 1992 which won the Nobel Peace Prize.
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