Stephen Hawking, the legendary British theoretical physicist who explored the mysteries of the universe from his wheelchair, died at the age of 76 on Wednesday.

As the world reacted to the news, Brazilian football star Neymar shared a photograph of himself smiling in a wheelchair on Twitter causing quite a stir.

Along with the photograph, a shirtless Neymar wrote, "You have to have a positive attitude and get the best out of the situation in which you find yourself."

Neymar has been slammed after posting such a tribute to the late Stephen Hawking.

The Paris Saint-Germain star, who is recovering from a foot injury has been out of action with an ankle ligament injury and has been forced to wear a protective boot in his recovery.

Fans on social media have responded angrily to the post, blasting the 26-year-old for comparing his situation to that of Professor Hawking.

One fan @mikalapaula was disgusted by the insensitive tweet, wrote, "Neymar cannot be your favourite footballer anymore: he used the death of Stephen Hawking and his disability to publicise his recovery for a broken leg. Repulsive."

@ChristianAllen8 fumed: "Neymar there, with his broken toe and sprained ankle, attempting to draw a comparison to Stephen Hawking, who had debilitating ALS for over 50 years."

Another by the handle @BeardedGenius tweeted: "Neymar there, with his sore metatarsal and sprained ankle, marking Stephen Hawking's death by cheerily comparing himself tom quadriplegic Stephen Hawking."

Neymars message was seemingly posted with good intentions, but came in for heavy criticism.