Wolfsburg have dismissed criticism of their continued big spending, with deputy chairman of the supervisory board Stephan Gruhsem saying they bought Andre Schurrle to make "60,000 workers rejoice."

Wolfsburg, currently second in the Bundesliga, are owned by German car manufacturer Volkswagen, which has funded the signings of international stars such as Luiz Gustavo, Kevin De Bruyne and Schurrle during recent transfer windows.

There has been criticism that Die Wolfe have been buying their way to success, with a recent Die Welt report claiming they have a net spend of 108 million euros since the turn of the decade.

However, despite complaints from more traditional German clubs that they cannot keep pace with that kind of investment, Gruhsem said Wolfsburg, whose only league title came in 2009, have existed longer than three-time Bundesliga champions Cologne and he was tired of that argument.

"Football lives on top performances," he said at SpoBis, a sports business summit, on Tuesday. "Football needs investment."

He said the club had signed Germany international Schurrle from Chelsea to reward those who work at Volkswagen's Audostadt plants during the week and support the team at the weekend.

"We wanted to make the 60,000 workers rejoice in the Autostadt at the weekend," Gruhsem said, adding that it would always cost at least 18 to 20 million euros to sign a "top international player in his early 20s."

However, he acknowledged that Schurrle's arrival had also been motivated by a desire to ensure Wolfsburg qualify for next season's Champions League.

"We wanted to safeguard second place," he said. "It is very important for our future development that we play in the Champions League."

Wolfsburg, involved in the Europa League this season, will hope to secure the extra income provided by the Champions League to avoid contravening UEFA's financial fair play (FFP) regulations.

It emerged late last year that Wolfsburg had been subject to an FFP investigation, but Wolfsburg said earlier this month that they had contacted UEFA prior to signing Schurrle to ensure that the deal was viable under the economic restrictions imposed by the governing body.

According to a report in Sport Bild, a trio of Wolfsburg officials had travelled to Nyon in the autumn to meet the UEFA and explain their plans.

"We are convinced that the UEFA will accept what we presented there," Wolves managing director of finances, Wolfgang Hotze, said.

The sports weekly reported that, if UEFA accepts Wolfsburg's plans and the club qualify for Champions League, Volkswagen is to increase its investments in the club to 150 million euros.

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, who had predicted Wolfsburg's rise following the De Bruyne deal last January, told the SpoBis summit on Tuesday: "They are a club with seemingly infinite resources. I have always said that when VW start taking it seriously, they will push boundaries."

However, Watzke accepted that their rise is down to more than just finance.

"They now have people in charge who do a really good job," he said. "The worst that can happen to you is that a competitor does a good job and has more money."