Apart from that, Dani Alves, who was signed back in November on a free transfer, was also registered as a Barça player.
While the transfer window went much better than initially anticipated, the Blaugrana have a fresh dilemma on their hands with regard to the player registration for the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.
As per the UEFA rules, clubs are allowed to register only three new players for the next phases of the competition. And, Barcelona are left in a quandary as they have four fresh faces in the squad in the form of Alves, Traore, Aubameyang and Torres.
And, as per MARCA’s Luis Rojo, it seems that the Catalan giants have already made a decision to sacrifice Dani Alves from the quartet. The 38-year-old has been a positive influence on the squad since signing and has impressed on the field since being registered, with two assists in four appearances in all competitions.
Given his winning mentality and volumes of experience, leaving him out might not be the most prudent move from Barça. However, with Ansu Fati’s injury concerns and the uncertainty surrounding Ousmane Dembele, registering attackers will be a priority.
While Luis Rojo claims that Alves’ exclusion is a foregone conclusion, SPORT’s Toni Juanmarti is reporting that the club are yet to make a decision on the matter and will wait till tomorrow, February 2, to take a call on who gets dropped from the Europa League roster.
It will be interesting to see which way Xavi Hernandez and his coaching staff lean on Wednesday.
