Barcelona sporting director Deco has appeared to take a swipe at Manchester City over their massive £180 million January transfer splurge, contrasting it with Barça’s more sustainable squad-building approach.

City made four signings in the winter window—Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, and Nico Gonzalez—as they sought to rejuvenate an underperforming squad. However, Deco hinted that such a spending spree was necessary for Pep Guardiola’s side, whereas Barcelona had already completed their squad overhaul in previous years.

“Manchester City spent more than €200m in January,” Deco told TV3.

“We can’t afford it today. But we don’t need to bring in three or four players either. They need a renewal [of the squad]. We’ve already done it. We signed three years ago, and the youngsters have established themselves.”

Unlike City, Barcelona are restricted by LaLiga’s strict financial regulations, which have made squad registration an ongoing challenge. The club barely managed to re-register Dani Olmo after securing a controversial injunction in January.

Reports in Spain suggest that Barça’s summer transfer priority will be adding a top-class forward and reinforcing the full-back positions, rather than making wholesale squad changes.

Meanwhile, City’s expensive rebuild is yet to pay off, with Guardiola’s men struggling in the Premier League—sitting 15 points behind leaders Liverpool—and suffering a 3-2 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their knockout play-off.

While Barcelona look towards strategic signings, City’s January splurge highlights their desperation to remain competitive in England and Europe.