Signed 18 months ago from Athletico Paranaense, Roque spent the first-half of last season on-loan with Real Betis before being sold in January to Palmeiras.
Deco told Globoesporte: "We were not wrong about the concept because (Robert) Lewandowski was 34 or 35 at the time, and we were already thinking about his substitute for the future. So we signed Vitor. He was not as expensive as they say.
"The press always speculates, but you have to take into account the value of the player. In the end, we recovered most of the investment."
Deco then added, "It was Xavi who asked for him to arrive in the winter market. We always take into account the opinion of the mister. It should have happened in the summer. Barça demands a lot and was too concerned about what the press said."