Deco talks Rashford, Diaz, Barcelona transfer plans, Real Madrid – ‘Next season is not going to be easy’ | OneFootball

Having returned to FC Barcelona in 2023 as the new sporting director, Deco has had a big role in the success that the team achieved this past season.

From the appointment of Hansi Flick as the manager to signing Dani Olmo and renewing some of the most important players in the team, the 47-year-old former midfielder has done a solid job.

It must also be noted that the Catalans had been in poor financial health for a while and La Liga’s Fair Play rules have meant that Deco has had his hands tied in the transfer market.

Speaking in an interview with BBC, the Barcelona director spoke about the club’s finances and how he wanted the job despite being aware of the difficult situation.

“Barcelona is my club, I love Barcelona. I saw what happened from the outside and always thought I could help put Barca at the same high level,” he said.

“I knew it would be difficult when I joined with the financial rules – it is not a financial problem, but the financial fair play rules in Spain are more difficult than the Premier League and in other countries.”

Continuing on the subject, he added: “It is a problem for a lot of clubs, you just hear about Barca because we are a big club.

“You need to work with it, see how you can improve the team and the combination of La Masia [academy] players and experienced players has been important.”

Transfer plans

Talking about the summer transfer plans and Barcelona’s interest in Premier League wingers Luis Diaz (Liverpool) and Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Deco noted:

“We have been focusing on renewing contracts, after that, we’ll discuss players to come. Of course, these two players, like you mentioned, they are good but have contracts in their clubs, so we won’t speak because it’s not fair.

“But when you decide to go to the market, for sure, we find some names. In my opinion, we don’t need to bring many players.”

Busy weeks ahead for Deco. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

He added: “When I speak with the agents of the players, everyone wants to come or stay. So this is important. The image of the club is still good.

“We are proud because Barcelona is still such a big club, and the way we are playing football makes players want to come.”

At the same time, Deco insisted that Barcelona will “not sell our best players”, adding the team’s recent success means they can “grow with many of the same players”.

But he says they are looking for “two, three or four signings”, without needing to enter the market “like crazy” thanks to the stability within the team.

On Real Madrid

Deco also touched upon Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid who have appointed a new manager in Xabi Alonso and already made two headline signings in Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Barça director predicted that next season would not be easy for his team while stating that it was always good to go up against a tough Madrid side.

“Next season is not going to be easy, because I know that first Real Madrid has a lot of top players,” he said. “In my opinion, they have a big team. They have a lot of fantastic 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, players that the people want to see. I think Madrid has these kinds of players, like us.

“Now it’s important to keep the top players in La Liga. So for us, it’s important that Madrid are strong, that Atletico is strong, and we need to be there.”