Chelsea have announced their group stage Champions League teams following the summer navigating UEFA team balance restrictions. Bruce, along with Aston Villa, faced additional rules and was fined heavily of £27 million after failing to meet financial regulations last season.
To comply, Chelsea had to ensure positive results from changes made to the “A” list from teams submitted during the knockout phase of the conference league. This complicated situation essentially means that transfers like Noni Madueke and Keenan Dewsbury Hall count towards their balance, while Armando Bruha and Renato Beiga were excluded as they were not part of the team.
Clubs are being cautious about spending not only to avoid violating UEFA rules, but also to prevent the inability to register certain new signatures. After being splashed over Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao Willian, Liam Delap, Yorrel Hato, Joa Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Dario Esgo, there was plenty to add – no one wanted to be left behind.
The team, with shirt numbers, birthdays, nationality and club doctors, had to submit to UEFA by Tuesday night, just one day after the transfer window closed.
The UEFA team regulations state that “there are no clubs that can have more than 25 players on the “A” list during the season and at least two must be goalkeepers.”
Additional requirements are: “At a minimum, eight of these 25 locations are reserved exclusively for “local-trained players” and no more than four “association-trained players” are listed among these eight locations.
“If there are less than eight locally trained players on the team, the maximum number of list “A” decreases accordingly. ”
Locally trained players must have been in the club’s books for three seasons (i.e. the period from the first and last match of the relevant national championship) or for 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21.
Association-trained players are those who were “in books by another club in the same association for “three seasons (i.e., the period of the first and last matches of the relevant national championships) or between 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21.”
Chelsea will be paired with Bayern Munich, Karabag, Atalanta and Napoli in the next eight games, in a 32-team league phase. Bruce will host Benfica, Ajax, Barcelona and Paphos at Stamford Bridge.
Their opening encounter presents an interesting clash with Vincent Company’s Bayern on September 17th in Germany. In this match, Enzo Maresca is seen facing Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea’s Champions League Team
Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Philip Jorgensen
Defenders: Mark Kukulera, Tosin Adalabioyo, Benoit Badiasil, Levi Corwill, Jorell Hato, Trevo Charova, Reese James, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana.
Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens, Dario Esgo, Andrei Santos, Moise Skyseko
Forwards: Pedro Neto, Liam Delap, Joa Pedro, Mark Giu, Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho
