Brazil’s football giants — including Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Ronaldinho — are rallying behind a fundraising effort for victims of devastating floods that have killed at least 85 people in the south of the country.
Using their huge social media presence, the stars of Brazil’s most popular sport have joined ranks with local club players, who have used their own jet skis to help people escape waters that have completely inundated entire towns.
Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, 32, shared a video Tuesday showing his private jet being filled with crates of water bottles and other supplies.
“Brazil is going through a delicate moment and helping is NEVER too much,” he wrote in the post shared with his 221 million followers, after endorsing a call for donations led by the Brazilian Football Confederation.
Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul was hit by deadly flooding last week after days of heavy rains, forcing more than 150,000 people from their homes and cutting off many from drinking water and electricity.
The disaster, which the government and experts have linked to climate change, swept away bridges and roads, further complicating humanitarian relief.
Floodwater also filled the stadiums and training facilities of Porto Alegre’s two main football clubs, Internacional and Gremio. The typically fierce rivals have united in rescue efforts.
“We are all on the same side. This is our goal,” Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, who plays for Internacional, told local station Radio Gaucha.
He and Ecuadoran teammate Enner Valencia have personally delivered aid supplies to a shelter for displaced people.
Opposing Brazilian goalkeeper Caique, of Gremio, also took dramatic measures to help — using his jet ski to save people in Porto Alegre cut off by the overflowing Guaiba River.
His teammate Diego Costa, a Brazilian-born forward, donated four jet skis to help rescue people stranded by floodwaters.
