Barcelona's Champions League Squad: Abdelkarim and Bisiu Promoted

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 seemingly routine registration.

All 25 players are registered on first-team contracts, as required by UEFA’s List A rules. That includes two names that, until recently, lived more in the world of the reserve team than the European spotlight: Egyptian defender Hamza Abdelkarim and Belgian youngster Jesse Bisiu.

Abdelkarim and Bisiu promoted to List A

Both Abdelkarim and Bisiu keep the shirt numbers they already use in La Liga. Abdelkarim stays with 29, Bisiu with 27. Domestically, they are still registered on reserve-team contracts, but to get them into the Champions League picture, Barcelona had to elevate them formally to List A as first-team players.

UEFA’s List B – the usual back door for academy talent – was not an option. Neither Abdelkarim nor Bisiu met the strict criteria: at least two consecutive years in the club’s academy, or three consecutive years under contract with only a short loan spell (no longer than one year) at another club under the same federation. Without that continuity, the club had only one route. Up they went to the senior list.

It’s a technical detail on paper. On the pitch, it’s a clear signal: Barcelona want these two available at the highest level, right now.

Bardghji left out after season-ending injury

One name is missing, and for painful reasons. Swedish forward Roony Bardghji has been left off the Champions League list after suffering a serious knee injury that will rule him out for the entire season.

Bardghji had already found minutes hard to come by last year, stuck behind the explosive rise of Lamine Yamal in his preferred position. The injury closes the door completely on his European involvement this campaign and freezes his progression at a delicate moment in his development.

While others move up the ladder, Bardghji’s year will be about recovery, not rotation.

Fariñas takes a different path

In midfield, Brian Fariñas follows a different route into Europe. He has been included on Barcelona’s academy list – UEFA’s List B – which the club can update up to 24 hours before each match. That flexibility keeps him right on the edge of the Champions League squad, ready to be called upon as needed.

Fariñas will wear number 28 in the competition, even though he already runs out with number 4 for the first team in La Liga. It’s an odd split: first-team number domestically, academy status in Europe. But it fits perfectly within UEFA’s rules on Lists A and B and underlines his hybrid role – already trusted by the senior staff, still officially filed as an academy product in continental play.

So Barcelona head into the Champions League with a squad that blends established stars, promoted reserves, and a midfielder straddling two worlds. The paperwork is done. Now the question is simple: which of these young names will turn administrative opportunity into something far more tangible on the European stage?