AS: Deco Does Not Believe in Big Data, Building a Low-Profile Team in His Own Style

According to AS, Barcelona sporting director Deco believes more in intuition and intangible factors in football rather than big data, and has built a low-profile team according to his own style.

Anderson Luis de Souza was born on August 27, 1977, and was called “Decozinho” at home. However, his uncle shortened the name to “Deco,” which has remained with him ever since. Deco initially joined Barcelona as a “Brazil affairs expert.” After Laporta returned to the presidency in 2021, Deco’s future direction was basically decided. In August 2023, he officially became Barcelona’s sporting director.

Someone inside the club said at the time: “He arrived with power.” Deco had previously warned Laporta that if he led the sporting committee in the future, Mateu Alemany would not be able to remain in his previous position. After Alemany lost part of his influence due to the handling of the Dembele situation and links with Aston Villa, Deco took over his role and became the Brazilian-Portuguese sporting director.

Deco has once again shown some characteristics of a traditional sporting director. He is someone who trusts football intuition more and does not rely on big data. For him, data is only used to strengthen judgment, not to reject intuition, performances on the pitch or intangible factors such as dressing-room atmosphere.

Deco understands the dressing room very well, and building an unbreakable team has always been his goal. Since taking charge, Barcelona have renewed many key players, including Kounde, Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, De Jong, Balde, Pedri, Gavi, Raphinha, Fermin, Bernal and Yamal. Football construction is important, and he found that quality in Flick, who has built an energetic and modern Barcelona side.

Human factors are also decisive. This was one reason Szczesny remained in the squad. The Polish goalkeeper was originally a temporary signing after Ter Stegen’s injury and played a role in the 2024-25 season. Later, his continued stay was largely because he could serve as a dressing-room glue, help manage players’ emotions and accompany Yamal’s development.

Barcelona’s greatest asset is their young players, but Deco has always sought the right balance. He also saw this quality in Eric, Raphinha and Rodri: they not only have football talent, but also possess strong personal qualities.

Deco is not the type of sporting director with a “master’s degree” profile who spends all day in an office working on Excel sheets. His only previous similar role was at the Gabon Football Federation. His working style relies more on intuition and the extensive network he built during his long career. Ironically, Jose Mourinho had a major influence on his career. Although their contact is not as close as before, they maintained a close relationship for many years.

Deco retired in 2013, then began working with Jorge Mendes and founded his own agency, D20 Sports. Raphinha developed under this company. Deco eventually turned a signing that some considered to involve personal interests into a key pillar of the team, and the deal happened after he had already begun working with Barcelona.

Deco is close to Bojan, who was assigned to work in a way closer to young players. In the summer of 2025, Deco also brought in Joao Pedro Amaral as scouting director. As responsibilities became clearer, Deco handled important structural operations while Amaral led future-oriented plans.

Vitor Roque was a €30 million signing handled by Deco, but he ultimately failed to meet expectations. However, Deco quickly adjusted, sending him back to Palmeiras for a fee almost equal to the original investment. In the summer of 2024, Deco signed Dani Olmo for €61 million, a deal that proved successful. In July 2025, he also secured Joan Garcia after strong efforts. Garcia became the first player in 30 years to move directly from Espanyol to Barcelona, with a transfer fee of only €26 million.

The outside world underestimated Deco’s understanding of financial fair play rules, but he is good at managing finances. In his first three years in office, Barcelona’s financial accounts were very positive, showing a surplus balance of more than €100 million.

The situation changed this season. Deco knows Barcelona have returned to the “1:1” rule, but they are likely to face restrictions again next season due to returning to Montjuic, so he began increasing investment: Gordon €80 million, Rodri €60 million, Adeyemi €22 million, Gabriel Jesus €10 million, Bissouma €8.5 million, Livakovic €2 million and Hamza €1.5 million.

Barcelona also generated income through player sales, including Ferran €48 million, Ansu €11 million, Tommy Marques €11 million, Fort €8.5 million and Inaki Pena €3 million.

Barcelona signed Mikel Barca and Mirza Katovic in the final days of the transfer window. With internal project adjustments, Barcelona’s reserve team was also transferred from the previous management structure led by youth director Alejando’s team to Amaral. Deco’s new policy is to identify young talents and invest in advance, with Hamza and Bissouma among this season’s main targets.

The La Masia plan has also been adjusted. The youth system represented by Xavi Espart remains the absolute priority for Barcelona’s first team. However, Barcelona are no longer afraid of letting young players leave. Marques and Fort are examples, as the club sold them while retaining certain control.

Deco faced criticism from Laporta’s opponents early in his tenure. Victor Font directly accused him of lying during the Vitor Roque signing, while some believed his appointment was related to his personal relationship with Laporta and Alejandro Echevarria. Echevarria had also brought Deco to the Gabon Football Federation.

However, Deco has earned respect. He has a serious style and, like during his playing career, is willing to express his views directly. Deco has linked whether he remains at Barcelona with whether Laporta continues as president, so he understands his plan has a time limit, potentially lasting until 2031 at the latest. By then, he will be 54 years old.

It is said that if Flick leaves, Cesc is a coach candidate highly appreciated by Deco. Deco has a large family and returns to Brazil whenever he has the chance. He is not particularly attached to the position; he enjoys the current job because the requirements he made upon arrival have been met: power, trusted personnel and a low-profile approach to transfer operations.

Deco is good at communicating with journalists and enjoys discussing football, so he has maintained a good relationship with the media. However, he also knows how to protect his private space. He usually does not feel too much pressure because he has confidence in himself. Simply put, Deco has created a distinctive image for himself.