Thiago Silva backs Neymar to star in Brazil

Brazil captain Thiago Silva has backed international teammate Neymar to be the star of the World Cup this summer.

The former Santos attacker made a bright start to his Barca career after moving from Brazilian football last summer, but struggled to make his mark in the second half of the campaign.

However, Paris Saint-Germain defender Silva believes that the 22-year-old will be the "star" of the competition, which gets underway this month.

"Our strength has always been the collective quality of our group," Silva told a Brazilian newspaper.

"But certainly Neymar is a triumph of individuality. We're good as a team, we're ready and we hope to have a great World Cup. Neymar will be the World Cup's star."

Neymar has scored 30 times in 44 games for his country.