Neymar has emerged as the anonymous benefactor of £775,000 to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward split his donation between humanitarian aid organisation UNICEF and a solidarity fund created in his home country.

Neymar made the gesture in secret, following former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo as the latest big-name footballer to provide support, but he was revealed as the benefactor on Brazilian TV.

Brazilian presenter Chris Flores told Fofocalizando: “Neymar donated R$5m [around £775,00] to fight COVID.

“He made this donation at the beginning of last week. Part of it went to UNICEF, and part to that solidarity fund that was created by artists.

“He preferred not to publicly disclose [the donation], so we’re telling everyone, because as soon as we pull the ear, we also talk when the person does something nice.

“We have this information, I brought it to you. We really think it’s a very cool, very positive attitude, and one that serves as an incentive for other sportsmen, for other personalities.”