Dani Alves defends Neymar over avoiding media

Dani Alves has urged everyone to not ‘interfere in his [Neymar's] development’

Neymar‘s club and international teammate Dani Alves has come into his defence over deciding against facing media on the eve of Brazil’s friendly against Switzerland.

Neymar, who inspired Brazil to victory in this summer’s Confederations Cup had been scheduled to appear at the press conference in Basel, but he withdrew late in the day. The reason for shunning the media was the presence of a large number of journalists, and he did not want to face the media addressing issues about his physical conditions.

His teammate Dani Alves did attend the press meet, and he was in full support of the youngster Neymar. He asked the media to show a little understanding, given Neymar’s physical condition has been the subject of much debate ever since Barcelona announced that the striker has anemia.

“Everyone’s talking a lot about these little problems that he is having,” Dani Alves was quoted by Yahoo Sports. “So, it’s important for him to not get distracted by all these problems being discussed at the moment and not let them interfere with his development.

“You have to forgive the boy. He’s focused on what he wants, and he is so important for us.

“And it’s always been better to work hard and speak little.”