Guardiola reveals what Man City must do to catch Barca
Asked whether his team were on the same level as Barcelona, the 47-year-old replied: "No, because it's completely different players.
"They are players who won in the past a lot; most of us are new here. Now we can say we won one title together but it's not good for us to compare with that team.
"That team dominated the last decade, 15, 20 years with different managers and players, winning a lot of things.
"To think about joining these kind of teams you have to be there for a long time. A long time means many, many years. [This season] we have just one title, that's all."
Guardiola feels the standout result from the first leg of last-16 matches serves to illustrate his point that stylish play and lavish investment are often no substitute for hard-bitten experience on the European stage.
"Sometimes it's not about how you play. The Champions League is completely different," he said.