Barcelona has dropped the list of players that will be playing the Europa League and surprisingly Dani Alves has been excluded from the list with new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traore included in the list. The La Liga giants were forced into making a decision on Alves who became the first signing of the Xavi Hernandez.
Dani Alves Dropped from Barca Europa League
The club then confirmed the arrival of the Brazilian before completing the signing of Ferran Torres from Manchester City. Barca was not finished there in the January transfer window as they secured the loan signing of Adama Traore from Wolves before clinching the signing of Aubameyang.
The arrival of all the players left the manager in a dilemma as they are now confused as to who makes the European squad. The head coach of the club Xavi has to prepare his side for the Europa League knockout stages after the club crashed out of the Champions League group stage and he will be needing capable and experienced hands which is why fans are surprised Alves is not on the list.
The decision came after days of discussion between Barca’s coaching staff over which of the four signings should be excluded as article 46 of UEFA’s regulations state that from “the knockout round playoffs, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition.”
The club thought compelled to include Traore due to his tactical flexibility along with both Aubameyang and Torres, not just due to their status but because of other injuries in the attack. Ansu Fati has had his season derailed by multiple injury issues while the ongoing contractual issues surrounding Ousmane Dembele may mean his game-time is restricted.
It is understood that Xavi and his coaching team explained the decision to Alves after training on Wednesday morning and then the Brazilian Dani Alves agreed to step down from the squad. Barca will play Italian side Napoli with the winners progressing through to the Round of 16 of the competition.
