Barcelona defender Dani Alves has defended teammate Neymar over the fallout with his transfer from Santos.

Alves has stuck up for his beleaguered team-mate, insisting he is being blamed for the fallout from the transfer.

"I think the criticism only started when the details about his contract emerged, before that everyone was happy with him," Alves told a press conference.

"We should not judge him on how much he cost, but on how well he is playing.

"For me now he is playing as well as he was at the start of the season. You expect that there will always be a period of adaptation when a player arrives in a new country, but he has been playing well.

"The club paid so much for him because he is worth it. People have paid more money for players that haven't been worth it."