Manchester City will only be allowed to register 3 of their 5 January recruits to their UCL squad

Premier League champions Manchester City will only be permitted to register three of their five new additions to their squad for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The Cityzens went all out in the January transfer window to beef up their squad after a disappointing first half of the season.

Manchester City are in the playoffs for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, where they will face Real Madrid this month. They will be permitted to submit a new list of players for the knockout phase of the competition, which can only include three new names.

The 2023 champions will not be able to add any more because they did not have enough exits, as four new additions are only allowed if 5+ players on the original list left the club. Their list must be compiled and submitted by February 6 to European football's governing body.

Pep Guardiola saw his side struggle with injuries in the first half of the season, starting with the loss of promising forward Oscar Bobb to a fracture after the Community Shield. 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri also picked up a season-ending ACL injury, and his defenders struggled to stay fit while Kyle Walker was the only exit from the club.

As a result, Manchester City spent over £175 million to sign four new players; Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, and Nico Gonzalez in the January window. They will also have teenage talent Claudio Echeverri join up with the club this month after completing his move from River Plate.

Marmoush and Khusanov have already appeared for the club since making their transfers from Eintracht Frankfurt and Lens, respectively while Vitor Reis has yet to make his debut.

Midfielder Gonzalez was a deadline-day signing from FC Porto and has yet to get a chance to debut for the club. Echeverri is still with the Argentina U-20 side at the ongoing Sub-20 CONMEBOL Copa America and is expected back later this month.

Guardiola will likely prioritize the three with European football experience for his squad while the teenage duo of Reis and Echeverri will be left out of the squad.

Barcelona to miss out on large windfall for Manchester City new signing - Reports

Barcelona are reportedly set to miss out on a large windfall from Manchester City following their signing of midfielder Nico Gonzalez from FC Porto. The Cityzens signed the 23-year-old former Spain U-21 midfielder in a deadline-day deal for a reported €60 million.

Gonzalez came through at Barcelona, appearing 37 times for the club before joining FC Porto in 2023 for €8.5 million. At the time, the deal included a 40% sell-on clause as the Spanish side sought to retain some future control on the deal. They would have been due a €24 million windfall from Gonzalez joining the Cityzens this month.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that FC Porto have paid off a portion of the sell-on clause in the past and will have to remit only €13 million to the Spanish giants. This still represents a significant amount, given their financial troubles in recent times.