Bayern Munich technical director Michael Reschke says his club do not make "super transfers" like Real Madrid, preferring to stick to their own "clear philosophy" of being smart in the market.
Bayern have long been among Europe's richest clubs, and were in fourth position in the most recent Deloitte Football Money League, sitting one place behind a Madrid squad which includes big-money signings including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez. Madrid have broken five of the last six world transfer records in signing Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Ronaldo and Bale.
However, speaking ahead of Bayern's Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Madrid on Tuesday -- when the German team must overcome a 2-1 first-leg deficit -- Reschke told El Pais that they consciously choose not to compete at the very top of the transfer market.
"Bayern invest a lot of money in signings, but not the same size as Madrid," Reschke said. "Such super transfers do not fit with the club's philosophy. The biggest fee we have paid was for Javi Martinez [€40 million] in 2012. Bayern have a very clear philosophy, and we will keep to that path."
The latter stages of the Champions League have been dominated by the same clubs in recent years, with Madrid going for a third title in four years, and Bayern reaching the quarterfinals in each of the last six seasons.
Reschke said that the best players were increasingly concentrated in a smaller number of teams, and predicted that this would mean fewer big-money transfers in the coming years.
"The economic gap is the biggest reason," he said. "The second is that the big clubs are operating all the time in a more professional way.
"Last year we had a transfer of over €100m, [Paul] Pogba, and maybe we could put [Gonzalo] Higuain close to this with €90m. But I predict less transfers of this size. Because the top clubs are all the time selling fewer top players. They only move when their contracts end -- like [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and [Dani] Alves...
"Maybe you can buy someone when they reach the last year of their contract. The best players are at Juventus, Real, Barcelona, Atletico [Madrid] and the top teams in England, Munich, [Borussia] Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain... These players make the difference.
"Sooner or later, in the biggest games, they are decisive. It is impossible, even with a very well organised team, to counteract this quality. We will see this year what happens with Monaco [in the Champions League]. That could be an exception. They have very good players and some who could develop to the very top level."
Madrid have also had success in signing young talent in recent years, doing well to beat La Liga rivals Barcelona to buy Marco Asensio from Real Mallorca in 2014 -- a move which impressed Reschke.
"When I was in Greece for the Euro Under-19s I sent a message to [Madrid's director general] Jose Angel Sanchez congratulating him on signing Asensio from Mallorca for just €3.5m," he said. "They should put up a statue of him. Would Madrid let him leave now for €50m? I doubt it.
"We signed [Joshua] Kimmich in similar circumstances -- he was playing in the second division with [RB] Leipzig, not yet 19 years old, and we paid €8.5m. A lot of money in that moment, but sometimes you must make decisions. Sometimes you must take risks."
English clubs have been spending big for many years, but have had no Champions League finalist since Chelsea won the competition in 2012.
Reschke failed to say too much when asked why they had failed to build successful teams in Europe of late given their huge resources.
"I have great respect for the English clubs," he said. "They must keep to their path, which is the best for them."
