‘Man City development bars Vitor Reis from Champions League’
Man City defender Vitor Reis will be unable to play for the club in the Champions League thanks to another January transfer window move, reports The Athletic.
Following Josh Wilson-Esbrand’s move to Stoke City on loan, Man City are now only able to register 23 players for the Champions League knockout rounds.
The cap on registration is due to not having eight locally-trained (trained in England) players in their squad.
The squad size is reduced for each locally-trained player slot that is not filled, and City are under the quota by two players following Wilson-Esbrand’s departure.
Reis was signed from Palmeiras in January, but has been left out in favour of registering Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez, as reported by The Athletic.
Claudio Echeverri was signed by City in January 2024 from River Plate, and returned following a year-long loan at his former club, but the talented attacking midfielder has also been left out of the Champions League squad.
Man City look for second Champions League under Pep Guardiola
Football Insider Verdict
Pep Guardiola wrote himself into the Man City history books in the 2022/23 season by winning the club’s first ever Champions League title.
After being knocked out by eventual champions, Real Madrid, in the quarter-finals last season, there were hopes that the new format would give the Sky Blues an easier ride through to the latter stages of Europe’s premier competition.
However, it took City until the last game of the new league stage, a 3-1 win over Club Brugge, to guarantee their place in the next stage of the competition.
Now, for the third time in as many years, City will face Real Madrid in the knockout rounds, and their hopes for a second European trophy rest on their ability to beat the most accomplished team in the tournament’s history.
City are suffering from a dreadful beginning to their season, sitting fifth in the Premier League, and have just lost to rivals Arsenal 5-1 to further compound Guardiola’s issues.
Erling Haaland was mocked by Myles Lewis-Skelly after the youngster scored the Gunners’ third in a result which likely makes the Champions League and FA Cup City’s only potential sources of trophies this season.
Rodri may return from injury sooner than expected after surprise registration
Gonzalez joined in a Deadline Day deal from Porto, and was brought in to initially play in place of the injured Rodri.
Whilst not a like-for-like replacement, Gonzalez is an versatile and technically gifted midfielder who will still be able to play alongside the Balon D’Or midfielder on his return to the City side.
However, after City announced their registration for the Champions League, Rodri was surprisingly included.
The former Atletico Madrid man was expected to miss the entirety of the season with an ACL injury, but could return faster than expected it may seem.