‘I will be your eternal fan’: Devastated Neymar shares video as Bolsonaro mourns death of Brazilian pop star, 26, in plane crash

Neymar has joined the likes of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in mourning and disbelief after one of the PSG ace's favorite artists, the musician and singer Marilia Mendonca, died in a horrific plane crash on Friday in Brazil.

The hugely popular 26-year-old was on her way to a concert and had posted a story to her 38 million followers on Instagram which showed her walking towards the plane with a guitar case in tow.

Subsequent photos have revealed the wreckage of the vehicle beneath a waterfall near Piedade de Caratinga, a small town 220 miles north of Rio de Janeiro in Minas Gerais state in the south-east region of South America's largest country.

Mendonca was one of five people reported dead in the crash, along with her uncle and advisor, Abicieli Silveira Dias Filho, producer Henrique Ribeiro, and the pilot and co-pilot, whose identities have not been revealed yet.

O avião da Marília Mendonça caiu ???? que Deus te abençoe ela ela nesse momento ???????? #Marília pic.twitter.com/hq1FTLT13C

— Clauton Luiz (@ClautonL) November 5, 2021

Singing a well-loved brand of country music known as sertaneja, she was last year's most-streamed artist on Spotify in Brazil, where news of her death has rocked a populous of 212 million.  

On social media, president Jair Bolsonaro mourned "one of the greatest artists of her generation" and said that "the entire country receives the news in shock".

The world's most expensive footballer, however, took the news harder than most. 

Me recuso acreditar, me recuso ????

— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) November 5, 2021

"I refuse to believe – I just refuse," he tweeted.

Around midnight in the French capital, he uploaded a video of the pair on Instagram from when Mendonca appeared at his birthday party.

"One of the best surprises I've ever had," he wrote in the caption.

"To have you singing Happy Birthday to me, what an honor of mine."

"You marked your name in Brazil and in the world. I will be your eternal fan – rest in peace."

Everton star and international teammate Richarlison left a sad smiley on the post.

And this morning, Neymar took to Twitter again to write: "I swear I went to sleep asking God that everything was a dream and that today I just woke up from a nightmare."

This is the second showbiz friend that Neymar has lost in less than six months.

In May, MC Kevin tragically fell from a fifth-floor building in Rio aged 23, with Neymar later changing his bio to the victim's name alongside a prayer emoji and a black ribbon.

Neymar also uploaded a video to Instagram featuring the late funk singer.

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