Dani Alves defended teammate Neymar for being absent from a media conference a day before Brazil's match against Switzerland.
The young Brazilian was expected to speak to the press on Tuesday, but opted out of the session.
"Everyone's talking a lot about these little problems that he is having," Alves said, according to Yahoo. "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," he added.
"And it's always been better to work hard and speak little."
Alves has been a major advocate of his countryman. Alves recently told Mundo Deportivo that he expected the young Brazilian to grow at Barcelona.
"I was sure that if he left Santos he would come to Barcelona because he wanted to come," Alves said in an interview. "Neymar came looking forward to learn from the best in the world, with this attitude it is difficult for things to run bad for him...And if he is not [looking to learn], then he has come to the wrong place."
He noted that the infrastructure of his current club would help Neymar progress and learn to be the best player he can be.
"Here there are people who have already won a World Cup and they have won everything. They are very big and they are an example, even for me and I am with them for many years. It is not human to win all of that," Alves said. "They do it due to how they are, how they grow up, their mentality, their humility. It is normal people admire them and I wanted Neymar to come here and have the chance to meet them."
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