"We didn't want to sell important players"

Deco has analysed the summer transfer market for Barcelona's official media. The sporting director was satisfied with the transfers and said that he did not want to sell an important part of the squad in a preview of the full interview.

"There were offers for players, but it was clear to us that we didn't want to lose any important players. If in the last few years, we have been building a team, the idea was not to undo it, but to increase the level and not to lower it. And to sell was to lower it," he said.

Despite the economic difficulties, Deco did not want to "give in to the temptation to sell". And it was not easy because of Financial Fair Play. "We were clear about how important it was not to sell and to try to keep what we had at home," he added.

The sporting director looked to the academy: "If the youngsters worked, there was no need to go to the market. The idea was to find this balance and to know what we would be missing."

One of the names Deco spoke about was Barcelona's new coach Hansi Flick: "He is a calm and hard-working person. He has clear ideas. He is very demanding and knows at all times what needs to be done on a day-to-day basis. He is a hard worker."