The Premier League champions were forced to name just a 21-man squad for Europe's elite club competition this season after they broke Uefa's rules on spending last term.
Despite that punishment, the Blues have spent around £90 million (€125m) on bringing in five new faces since they won the English title in May, but Pellegrini feels his side were always going to struggle on the continent given the constraints they were under.
"I think we need to improve. If we want to be successful in Europe, we must improve," he told Sky Sports.
"I also think that it was maybe not our best year to continue in Europe. Remember we have important restrictions about the amount of players, the amount of money that we can spend, so it was a difficult year for us, for our team in that sense.
"But I think that maybe if we don't play against Barcelona we can continue."
However, Pellegrini readily conceded that Barca were the superior side at Camp Nou, though he believes that Sergio Aguero's missed second-half penalty was a pivotal moment in the game.
"I think we lost against a better team without doubt," Pellegrini added.
"Lionel Messi is very difficult to contain. Maybe we didn't play so well in the first half but we improved in the second and we took risks.
"We needed to score two goals and we thought it might happen had we scored the penalty. That was a very important moment because we had 15 minutes more to play."
Reports suggest the former Malaga boss could soon be sacked as City look set to miss out on silverware in 2014-15, given the six-point gap they must make up on Chelsea in the English top flight.
But Pellegrini insists rumours regarding his future do not concern him.
"No, for me it's not a distraction, I never worry about me so it doesn't [distract me], I suppose," he added.
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