I never said that the road would be easy - Neymar responds to Madrid defeat

Neymar has responded to Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League with a typically enigmatic post on social media.

The Brazilian had little impact in a crushing defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu, PSG falling to a Cristiano Ronaldo double and Marcelo's late strike after Adrien Rabiot put the Ligue 1 leaders in front.

Neymar was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off, having appeared to dive after being shown a yellow card for a rash hack on Madrid defender Nacho, leading to criticism of the Brazilian from his homeland.

Former Brazil international Walter Casagrande suggested fans are "creating a monster" by going overboard with their praise for the 26-year-old, who became the world's most expensive footballer when he joined PSG from Barcelona for €222million in August.

And Neymar appeared to respond to the criticism with a post on his Instagram page, which has 89.5 million followers.

"Thank you, my God, for all the moments I have in soccer, especially the hardest ones!" Neymar wrote. 

"I never told you that the walk would be easy, but it will be worth it."