Barcelona president Joan Laporta says it was important to clearout the senior players upon Pep Guardiola's appointment last year.
The like of Deco, Ronaldinho and - last summer - Samuel Eto'o, all were pushed out of the Nou Camp under coach Guardiola.
Laporta explained: "We were confident that Pep would bring order to the dressing room. We made some changes, recycling the team's leaders. We thought that was necessary.
"It allowed Guardiola to create new leaders, like Xavi , Iniesta and Messi. But the result surpassed our expectations. We are confident that we will have another good season and will continue to win titles."
