Barcelona sporting director Deco denied the club's financial problems and said that despite the restrictive financial controls in La Liga, they do not need to sell players.

Since his appointment in 2023, Deco, 47, oversees Barcelona’s revival, eventually reaching the domestic high notes while also entering the Champions League semi-finals.

The Catalan renewed the superstar teenager Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and manager Hansi Flick, while the Spanish National Sports Commission (CSD) signed midfielder Dani Olmo in a dispute with La Liga to register midfielder Dani Olmo.

When asked if the world should see Barcelona as a well-run club in 2025, Deco told BBC Sport: "Barcelona is my club and I love Barcelona. I saw something from the outside and always thought I could think I could help put Barcelona on the same high level."

“I know it will be difficult when I join the financial rules – it’s not a financial problem, but Spain’s financial fair game rules are more difficult than the Premier League and other countries.

"For many clubs, it's a problem, and you're just hearing about Barcelona because we're a big club. You need to work with it and it's very important to see how to improve the team and the combination of La Masia (Academy) players and experienced players."

The former Portuguese midfielder played for the Catalan, as well as Chelsea and Porto - stressed that Barcelona is happy to work with La Liga, but is confident that the rules will continue to improve.

Even if they don't, Barcelona is pleased to have "one of the biggest contracts in history" with Nike, and the newly renovated 100,000-seat Nou Camp will be the largest stadium in Europe and boost revenue.

He insisted that Barcelona will “not sell our best players”, adding that the team’s recent success means they can “grow with many of the same players”. But he said that due to the stability of the team's core, they are looking for "two, three or four signings" without having to enter the market "crazy".

When asked whether it included an option to sign United's Marcus Rashford, which was considered to have a capacity of £40m, or Liverpool's Luis Diaz, added: "We have been focusing on renewing the contract and after that, we will discuss future players.

"Of course, like you mentioned, these two players are good, but they have contracts in their clubs, so we won't talk because it's not fair. But when you decide to go to the market, of course, we'll find some names. I don't think we need to bring a lot of players."

He added: "When I talk to the agents of the players, everyone wants to come or stay. It's important. The club's image is still good. We are proud because Barcelona is still a big club and the way we play football makes the players want to come."

Deco is aware of the ongoing threat from Real Madrid, which will improve under the leadership of new head coach Xabi Alonso.

They also agreed to a deal that would leave Liverpool and Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. It is understood that Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras is the next one on the club's shortlist.

"Next season is not easy because I know the first Real Madrid has a lot of top players," he said. "I think they have a big team. They have a lot of great players. Of course, they want to improve.

“It’s very important to have a strong Madrid. It’s very important to have strong players, top players, the players people want to see. I think Madrid has such players, just like us.

"It's important now to keep the top players in La Liga in La Liga. So for us, Madrid is strong, competitive is strong, we need to be there, and that's important."