The Brazilian right-back will be left out of Barça's Europa League roster after a lengthy debate among the coaching staff.
Dani Alves will not play for Barcelona in their Europa League Last 16 match against Napoli later this month. According to AS USA, Xavi will leave the veteran full-back off the squad list for the Europa League, which must be submitted to UEFA by midnight today. According to UEFA regulations, "a club may register a maximum of three additional qualified players for the remaining matches in the current competition" beginning with "the elimination round play-offs."With the addition of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Barça have already signed four players in the January window: Alves, Adama Traoré, and Ferran Torres. One of the four has to be left out, according to Xavi.
Before making his final selection, the coach prioritised the attacking positions. Balance is needed in the team, and scoring goals has been a problem this season - both of these factors are crucial when playing in Europe. As a result, he has chosen to include his three new forwards in the lineup while skipping a defence.
Alves is aware of the situation.
After this morning's training session, the coach told Alves of his decision and stated his reasoning. The Brazilian was fully aware of the situation and accepted the judgement. Apart from concentrating on the forward positions, Xavi has a number of choices on the right wing, including Sergio Dest and Oscar Mingueza, two players in whom he has little faith. Playing with three centre-backs and Arajo out wide, or maybe Adama as a wing back, is another option. Barça cannot afford to be short on the front line, where they are already without Ansu Fati, who is out for ten weeks, and maybe Ousmane Dembélé as his condition develops. Xavi is also without two B team forwards, Ferran Jutglà and Ez Abde, who were not included in the B team list submitted to UEFA in September. Players must have completed at least three full seasons in the young teams to be eligible for the B list, which Jutglà and Abde did not have because they only joined Barça last year.
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