Barcelona Leave Bardghji Out as Champions League Squad Is Set
FC Barcelona have already made a strong start to their 2026-27 campaign, winning all three of their opening La Liga fixtures, and their attention now turns to Europe with the Champions League set to begin in a couple of days. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Blaugranes have submitted their official squad list to UEFA for the upcoming campaign, naming 25 first-team players.
The most notable additions to the list are youngsters Hamza Abdelkarim and Jesse Bisiwu, while the most significant absence is Roony Bardghji. The Swede has not been included because he is expected to remain out of action for almost the entire season after suffering a serious injury during preseason, a blow that comes on top of his expected departure from the club, which had already been mooted before the summer transfer window closed.
Regarding the specifics of the registration, Abdelkarim has been named on the A-list with number 29 and Bisiwu with number 27. Both players were placed there rather than on the B-list because Champions League rules require academy players to have spent two uninterrupted years at the Blaugrana academy, or three years in total including any loan spell, before they qualify for B-team registration – conditions neither youngster has yet met.
Brian Farinas, by contrast, has been named on the B-list, having satisfied those conditions despite holding first-team number 4 in La Liga this season. That means he would be available for Hansi Flick in the Champions League with number 28, a detail that reflects the administrative side of Barcelona’s squad-registration process this season, closely tied to how the club has also handled Joan García’s own registration earlier in the campaign.
It is worth noting that this B-list can be updated 24 hours before any Champions League fixture, meaning other academy players could still earn eligibility for individual matches as the season progresses. Barcelona learned their League Phase opponents and schedule only a few days before submitting this list, setting the stage for their broader European campaign to get underway.
Bardghji’s absence is not expected to worry Flick too much given the circumstances surrounding his injury and prior transfer speculation, though the registered list for now defines exactly who is available to the German coach as Barcelona’s European campaign begins.
