Barcelona squad list for Athletic clash

After their victory over Valencia at Mestalla, Barcelona face the second matchday of La Liga EA Sports 2024-25, where they will make their debut in front of their home fans at Montjuic. Valverde's Athletic will be a demanding test for Hansi Flick's side, who arrive with a handful of absentees and an important new addition, albeit with an asterisk.

We are talking about Dani Olmo. After several weeks of recovering his fitness, the playmaker has been included in an official squad for the first time. However, early this morning the player was still not registered, so his presence or not with the number ‘20’ against Athletic will depend on whether the Cule board receives the green light from La Liga this Saturday.

The match is at 19:00 Spanish time, so the Azulgranas have the morning and part of the afternoon to sort out the administrative paperwork. Three players are missing from the squad who could help with their registration: Clement Lenglet, Vitor Roque and Mika Faye. These trio are finalising their departures to Atletico, Real Betis and Rennes respectively, but it seems complicated for Barca to solve all this tetris in time.

Let's remember that Gundogan's departure to Manchester City on a free transfer was not enough to balance the salary cap. More players like the ones mentioned above have to leave for a total value of at least 20 million euros (via ’Relevo‘) or resolve the case of Barca Studios. The non-payment of the German company Líbero has made an important problem and the Cules have not been able to close a new agreement with Nike either. Solving some of these issues is another way, as well as resorting to personal guarantees, as was done in 2022 so that Jules Koundé could play.

Flick's full list for Barca vs Athletic:

Ter Stegen, Pau Cubarsi, Alex Balde, Inigo Martinez, Ferran Torres, Pedri, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Iñaki Peña, Pablo Torre, Fermín Lopez, Marc Casado, Pau Víctor, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo*, Jules Kounde, Eric García, Ander Astralaga, Marc Bernal, Alex Valle, Hector Fort, Gerard Martín and Sergi Dominguez.

 

August 24, 2024