Barcelona's Champions League Squad: Abdelkarim and Bisiu Included
Barcelona have locked in their 25-man squad for the Champions League league phase, and the list carries a couple of notable twists beneath the surface of a routine registration.
All 25 names are players on first-team contracts, in line with UEFA rules. Yet two of them, Egyptian defender Hamza Abdelkarim and Belgian youngster Jesse Bisiu, arrive by a different route to most of their teammates.
Abdelkarim and Bisiu step up
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Abdelkarim and Bisiu are both included on List A, officially registering them as first-team players for Europe. They will keep the same shirt numbers they use in La Liga: Abdelkarim with 29, Bisiu with 27.
Domestically, both are still listed on reserve-team contracts. To get them into the Champions League, Barcelona could not rely on the more flexible List B, which is reserved for club-trained youngsters. UEFA rules demand that List B players must have spent at least two consecutive years at the academy, or three consecutive years including a loan of no more than one season to another club under the same federation.
Abdelkarim and Bisiu do not meet those criteria, so the club took the direct route and placed them on List A, effectively elevating their European status.
Bardghji left out after season-ending blow
One name is missing. Roony Bardghji, the Swedish forward whose arrival had generated plenty of curiosity, does not feature in the 25-man squad.
The reason is brutal and simple: a serious knee injury that will sideline him for the entire season. Barcelona have opted not to register him for the Champions League, knowing he will not be available at any stage of the campaign.
Bardghji had already found it hard to earn minutes last season, stuck behind the dazzling rise of Lamine Yamal in his preferred role. Now injury has halted his progress completely, at least until next year.
Fariñas walks a different line
While Abdelkarim and Bisiu move up to List A, Brian Fariñas takes a different path.
The midfielder has been named on Barcelona’s academy list for Europe, registering on List B. That list can be updated up to 24 hours before each match, giving the club flexibility with their youngsters across the group stage.
Fariñas will wear number 28 in the Champions League. That detail is striking because he already carries the number 4 shirt with the first team in La Liga. His status changes from competition to competition: first-team number in the league, academy registration in Europe, all dictated by UEFA’s split between Lists A and B.
Barcelona’s paperwork is done. Now the question is how much of this quiet administrative reshuffle will actually be felt under the lights on Champions League nights.
