Neymar has admitted that he was surprised to have been helped by Lionel Messi so much in his first season with Barcelona.

The Brazilian forward revealed that he had heard negative comments made about Messi's personality, but that those suggestions could not be further from the truth after taking the opportunity to learn from his teammate.

"Messi has surprised me in all areas," Neymar told Mundo Deportivo.

"Before coming here, I had heard horrible things about him - like that he was extremely reserved and never spoke to anyone. Now I see things differently.

"In addition to being a genius, he was very helpful with me off the field. When I see how he behaves with people, I realise how much of a good person he is. I have nothing negative to say about him."

Neymar joined Barcelona from Santos last summer.