The former Netherlands midfielder, who had a loan stint at the Camp Nou club, sympathises with the 24-year-old and believes the stick he has received is unnecessary

Edgar Davids feels that criticism of Barcelona forward Neymar is unfair, stressing that the Brazil star is "only human".With the Catalans exiting the Champions League at the quarter-final stage and ceding ground in the Liga title race with a defeats to Valencia and Clasico rivals Real Madrid, Neymar was one of the players whose performances came under scrutiny.The 24-year-old went six games without finding the net before scoring in last week's 8-0 demolition of Deportiva La Coruna and Saturday's 6-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon.Former Barcelona midfielder Davids noted that expectations are always higher for players such as Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.“I think it’s always unfair, but, if you are Neymar or Messi or Suarez, people expect every week back-to-back goals or brilliant performances," said Davids at the launch of the International Champions Cup in Dublin."Let’s be honest, but let’s also be honest that they’re human. He did fantastic last season, and it’s only human to have a little bit of a niggle but it’s still there for him to finish the season on top.“If you play for Barcelona or Ajax or for any top team or top side they want to see the top players excel every week. So that criticism will always be there."There is very little between the teams in the race for the Liga title with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid tied on 82 points, while Real Madrid are close behind on 81 points.Davids acknowledged that Luis Enrique's side had been "sloppy" but has confidence that the Blaugrana have what it takes to clinch the league."It’s tight but still Barcelona are Barcelona and they will always have an opportunity to win," said the 43-year-old."If you look at the game they have amazing players and a couple of them can decide the game with one action."They’re a bit sloppy lately but I’m confident that they will be able to defend it."