Brazilian football star Neymar arrived at court in a wheelchair on Thursday night to speak with police in connection with claims he raped a model in a Paris hotel.

The 27-year-old spoke to investigators for two hours in Rio de Janeiro before he emerged on crutches and gave a short statement thanking people for their support.

Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza, 26, says Neymar raped and assaulted her in the Sofitel Paris Arc Du Triomphe on May 15.

Neymar arrived at a police station in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night where he spoke to police for around two hours in a case related to rape allegations against him

He arrived at the police station in Rio in a wheelchair due to a recent ankle injury playing against Qatar, then made his way inside on crutches

Neymar spoke to cybercrimes police after he was charged with posting nude images of model Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza online without her consent in an attempt to show she had sent him friendly messages after the alleged attack took place

The 27-year-old, the world's most expensive footballer, is expected to speak to more police investigating the rape allegations directly in the coming days

The footballer was wheeled through the crowd by his security detail before using crutches to enter the police station, after injuring his ankle playing against Qatar on Wednesday night.

Neymar is not thought to have answered questions about the rape allegations directly, but instead spoke to investigators in a related cybercrimes case.

He has been charged with posting nude images of Trindade online without her consent in an attempt to show that she had continued sending him friendly messages after the alleged attack took place.

The Paris Sant-Germain player is expected to speak to more investigators looking into the rape allegations directly in the coming days.

The footballer, whose full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, strenuously denies the allegations, describing them as 'a set-up'.

His lawyer, Maira Fernandes, said the star attended the police station in order to make a statement.

Neymar's security team struggled to hold back a mob of people as he arrived at the police station to testify in Rio de Janeiro on the case of alleged statutory rape

More photos were taken inside the police station as Neymar, centre, was led away

Neymar, centre, supported himself on a table in the police station as he was led away

She said: 'Neymar has just given a statement. He made the point of coming as soon as he could to give a statement, to clarify everything that needed to be clarified.

Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza, 26, has accused Neymar of raping her

'We are absolutely confident that we will prove the innocence of our client. The process was thorough but he provided all the clarifications that were to be provided.'

Speaking at the door as he emerged from the police station, Neymar thanked his fans for their support.

He said: 'I appreciate the support and all the messages that the world has sent, my friends, my fans, that the world is with me. I want to say thank you for the well wishes, and say that I have felt very loved.'

Neymar appeared at the police station after it emerged that Trindade was ordered to pay a debt just a day before coming forward with her allegations.

According to Brazilian news website GP1, De Souza was ordered to pay 26,712 Brazilian Reais (£5,000) on May 14.

The fine was imposed because of unpaid rent and was said to have been comprised of three months rent and legal fees.

De Souza, who is believed to work as a model and Instagram influencer, was also reportedly served with an eviction order by the court.

In a video clip released this week Trindade is shown slapping Neymar before he kicks out at her (pictured) in an attempt to ward her off, then tries to restrain her

Other media outlets in Brazil also claimed she is currently engaged in a court case with the Pan American School of Arts who sued her over a debt of 4,160 Reais (£800).

But De Souza claims she is not trying to extort any money from the footballer, who earns a reported salary of £620,000 per week.

'For my part, there was no extortion. I want justice, not financial compensation,' she told SBT during the TV interview.

'I want him to pay for what he did. I am aware of what has happened to me. It's a matter of honour.'

Little is known about De Souza's career, although she boasts nearly 4,000 followers on Instagram.

Since making the allegations, however, De Souza has set her account to 'private' mode and deleted all her previous posts.

Trindade told Brazilian TV that she was the victim of 'aggression and rape' by Neymar, that he beat her during their encounter, and refused to stop even though she told him to

Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza, accused Neymar of rape and sexual assault at a Paris hotel

The incident is alleged to have occurred on May 15 at the Sofitel Paris Arc Du Triomphe

The actress and model has previously appeared in a music video for Brazilian artist Zula in his song 'Fogo Cruzado'.

Neymar has admitted meeting with Trindade but vociferously denies rape, saying the entire encounter was consensual, calling it 'a set-up'.

Neymar is in Brazil preparing for the Copa America starting next week. He arrived at the Granja Comary training ground outside Rio de Janeiro 10 days after the alleged incident

The athlete's father has confirmed the authenticity of a video released earlier this week showing a violent altercation between the pair, but claims it shows his son was tricked by Trindade.

Trindade's former lawyers have rejected any suggestion the she is trying to extort the football player.

Police in Neymar's home country of Brazil have launched a rape investigation after Trindade filed charges there earlier this month.

Trindade, who says she works as a model, acknowledged that she initially liked Neymar - full name Neymar da Silva Santos Junior - and wanted to have sex with him.

The football megastar paid for a plane ticket to bring her from Brazil and put her up in a Paris hotel, she says.

Things changed dramatically at their first encounter, Trindade said. 'He was aggressive, totally different than the boy that I got to know on the messages.

'Since I really wanted to be with him I said, OK, I'm going to try to handle this,' she said.

After some kissing and caressing 'he started to hit me ... then he began to hurt me a lot, and I asked him to stop because it hurt.'

According to Trindade, Neymar apologised, but then continued hurting her while they had sex.

Brazilian football star Neymar, who is the world's most expensive player, has denied claims he raped a woman in a Paris hotel last month. He took to Instagram (pictured) to claim the incident was 'a set-up'

Nike Inc said on Thursday it is 'very concerned' about the rape accusation against the star, raising questions about its sponsorship of one of the sport's most famous players.

A spokesman said: 'We are very concerned by the recent allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation.

A representative for Mastercard in Brazil confirmed to Reuters that the company had planned an advertising campaign to coincide with this month's Copa America tournament.

But she did not confirm reports in Brazil's three biggest newspapers that the company decided to suspend Neymar's featuring in the campaign.