2 out-of-favor Barcelona stars omitted from squad for Manchester City friendly

Barcelona have released their 27-man squad list for Wednesday’s (August 24) friendly against Manchester City, leaving out two players who aren’t considered to be a part of the club’s future. All first-team players have been included in the squad list except center-back Samuel Umtiti and forward Martin Braithwaite.

According to Football Espana, both exiled players have been instructed to find a new club as soon as possible. They were also absent from Barca’s squad list for their first two La Liga games this season.

Jules Kounde, who is yet to be registered as a Barcelona player, could get some much-needed game time against the Premier League holders. Until the former Sevilla man is officially added to Barca’s roster, he can only feature in friendly encounters for the club. Right-back Sergino Dest, who was absent from Barca’s first two competitive squad lists (Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad), has returned to the sheet. It will be interesting to see if the former Ajax midfielder is given some minutes against City.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay have also been included, despite the forwards being linked with moves away from the club. The Blaugrana do not have any injury concerns, meaning a strong XI could take to the field at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

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Barcelona-Manchester City friendly is for a good cause

Barca’s midweek friendly with City may seem like an unnecessary inconvenience, but there is a very worthy cause behind it. The friendly fixture has been organized to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research at the Luzon Foundation, in support of former Barcelona goalkeeper and coach Juan Carlos Unzue.

Unzue, who was a part of Pep Guardiola's coaching staff while he was in charge of Barcelona, was diagnosed with ALS a couple of years back. Guardiola holds Unzue in high regard and is happy to take his team to Catalonia a couple of days prior to their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace (August 27).

Speaking about the fixture, the Manchester City coach said (via SportsAdda):

“We will be together - a few days with our new players. Our chairman will be there. We can recover and train in a good environment.

“And we go because Barcelona open doors to play a game for an important person in our lives. They invite us to raise money for the battle that he has, and it is an incredible argument for us to be there. To play at Camp Nou is important for us. A big stage and a big team.”