Barcelona have submitted a 25-player squad to UEFA for the league phase of the Champions League, with Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim and Belgian player Jesse Bissio included among those registered on first-team contracts.
However, Sweden international Roony Bardghji has been left out after suffering a serious knee injury that is expected to keep him out for the entire season.
Bardghji made limited appearances for Barcelona last season, with his opportunities restricted in part because he operates in the same position as the club’s outstanding young winger Lamine Yamal. His absence from the Champions League list means he will not feature in the competition as Barcelona begin their European campaign.
The squad submitted by the Catalan club includes both Abdelkarim and Bissio, despite the pair retaining their existing shirt numbers for domestic football. Abdelkarim will continue to wear number 29 and Bissio number 27 in La Liga, where both players are registered on contracts with Barcelona’s reserve team.
For Champions League purposes, though, Barcelona were required to place the two players on List A as first-team players. Neither qualifies for List B under UEFA’s homegrown-player regulations.
A player can be registered on List B if they have spent two consecutive years at the club’s academy, or three successive years with no more than one season spent on loan at another club affiliated to the same national association. As Abdelkarim and Bissio do not meet either condition, they had to be included on Barcelona’s List A instead.
Midfielder Brian Farinas has been registered differently. He is part of Barcelona’s academy group and will be available for selection in the Champions League wearing number 28 as a List B player.
That status applies even though Farinas already wears number four for Barcelona’s first team in La Liga. His European registration is governed by the separate UEFA rules covering Lists A and B, meaning his Champions League squad number and classification do not match his domestic arrangements.
Barcelona can also make changes to their academy list until 24 hours before a match, giving the club greater flexibility over the availability of players registered under List B.
The squad submission provides a clearer picture of Barcelona’s planning for the league phase, with Abdelkarim and Bissio eligible to play in Europe despite their reserve-team registration in Spain. Bardghji, meanwhile, has been excluded because of the long-term knee problem that is set to rule him out for the season.
