Mascherano advises Neymar to stay at Barcelona

Spanish football club Barcelona's defender Javier Mascherano sent a message to Brazilian striker Neymar that the best place for him to continue improving as a player is at Camp Nou.

Mascherano was speaking amid stories that the Brazilian has offers from clubs in England with Real Madrid also interested in signing the player who has two-and-half years remaining on his current contract, reports Xinhua.

"I don't usually talk about personal matters of my teammates. But what I can say is that I see him very comfortable and happy in both the club and in the side," said Mascherano.

"If he wants to be the best player in the world, then Barcelona is the ideal club for him to be at. It can be hard to adapt to European football, but he has been able to do that here."

The defender said he didn't believe that the Barcelona attacking trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi had been overworked in another intense season which has seen them play two games a week since the start of the year.

"They have rested more as a result of the various injuries they have had, but we have a coach (Luis Enrique) who knows how to manage the time that each player has and he has all of the information," he concluded.