With the league phase of the Champions League done and dusted, Barcelona will be focusing on the knockout rounds ahead.
Thanks to a brilliant finish to the league phase, Barcelona were able to entirely avoid the knockout playoffs in February by finishing fifth in the standings.
With the league phase ending, clubs in the Champions League were also given the opportunity to update their UCL squads, with up to three additions allowed.
Barcelona make some key changes
As reported by Diario SPORT, the Blaugrana have made strategic adjustments to Hansi Flick’s roster as they prepare for the Round of 16.
The most significant addition to the A-list is Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo. Having officially joined the club on January 13, Cancelo was ineligible for the final two matches of the league phase against Slavia Prague and FC Copenhagen.
Despite having only played 133 minutes across three domestic games so far, he is now fully registered and available to bolster Flick’s defensive options starting from the first leg of the Round of 16.
On the outgoing side, Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been officially removed from the Champions League A-list.
The German goalkeeper, currently on loan at Girona, underwent surgery this Friday for a hamstring injury.
While rumours suggested a potential early return to Barcelona due to his physical setback, it is now confirmed that he will remain at Montilivi until the end of the season.
Interestingly, the list provided by UEFA still includes the name of Dro on the Blaugrana’s B-list. This appears to be a clerical error, as the young midfielder was officially registered by PSG this Friday following his recent transfer.
The post Barcelona make a few key changes to the Champions League squad ahead of knockout rounds appeared first on Barca Universal.
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