Deco offered details on the changes made over the summer, including the appointment of coach Hansi Flick and the departure of former captain Sergi Roberto.
Hansi Flick:
"As a sports director, we have always believed that although we did not have any success in titles last year, we had a good base with the home-grown players. We had to make decisions on departures, signings and look at what we had in the reserve team with courage. We needed a coach who believed in this idea and project and that is helping us to make this change because the coach is a fundamental part of this process. He gave us the green light to continue with the planned work on physical preparation and recovery because it was something that had to be improved."
"He has a lot of quality and we believe in him. He arrived at a difficult time in December and we have loaned him to Betis so that he can return."
"He came on a free transfer and after a conversation with the coach, and seeing that he wasn't going to get any minutes, he decided to leave. And we let him leave on a free transfer, taking into account that he came at no cost."
"We couldn't convince him to stay, he wanted to go to Chelsea and had a low release clause which they exercised."
Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso:
"The former captain's contract expired, he has been a key player in the club and we are very grateful for what he did. His contract expired and we had other plans with players who came up through the ranks. Marcos Alonso was unlucky with injuries."
"We thought we were missing a player like him. We have high-level midfielders, but he gave us many more solutions than what we had. He was a key player to strengthen the squad. Pau Víctor was the top scorer in the reserve team and we believe in him."
Szczesny:
"He came because of Marc's injury. We hadn't planned to bring anyone in. We were clear that we had to provide stability in the goal."
Loans recovered:
"Pablo Torre was invested in two years ago. We believed we could get him back. The same as Eric García, who grew up in Girona. Ansu Fati left last year, but due to injuries things haven't gone as well as he wanted. He is a club asset and we wanted him to be with us this year."
Budget:
"We have increased the market value of the squad by more than 200 million. We have a mix of young players with others with experience. It gives us the possibility of having a team for the present and the future. And these figures confirm that we are on the right track."
Strategic goals:
"We are controlling investments. Signings are renewal, strategy, decisions to revalue home-grown players... The press talks a lot about bringing in players, but we know what we have to do. We control investments to sign only what we want and, in addition, to adapt the salary cost to the rules of Fair Play. We want bonuses to be for titles. Barça cannot go without winning. And for players to be rewarded when we win. Our unequivocal bet is La Masia while at the same time being attentive to the market."