Yaya Toure believes it is time Manchester City justified their huge investment by finally reaching the latter stages of the Champions League.
City, who have never reached the quarterfinals of the competition, trail 2-1 in their last-16 tie against Toure's former club Barcelona going into Wednesday's second leg at the Camp Nou.
The 31-year-old cost £24 million when he arrived at City from Barca in 2010, while the Premier League side's current squad cost a combined total of around £350 million in transfer fees.
"The club have been spending a lot of money to build the best players, trying to make this club great and one of the top in Europe," Toure told a news conference. "Now we have such a little bit of difficulty but I can say we continue to work hard because it's not the first time we've been in this situation.
"We have the belief of the team and, as well, we know our fans will back us again because it's going to be a tough game against Barcelona. We need to turn back this tide and we try to do it for the fans and for the club and for the people who continue to help us."
Toure also hit back at City's critics, saying their recent problems have been exaggerated following a run that has seen the club pick up just three wins from the last 11 games in all competitions.
"Football is like that," he added. "Last year we were brilliant, and everyone was saying City are a top team in Europe, and all of a sudden we have some problems and we're the worst team in the world."
Toure will make his first appearance in Europe since November after he served a three-match suspension for his red card against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League group stages.
"It's a very important game for me and a very important game for the club, too," he said.