MAN CITY INCLUDE RODRI IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SQUAD BUT OMIT ONE NEW SIGNING

Manchester City have omitted their £29m signing Vitor Reis from their Champions League squad for the knockout phase.

The Brazilian defender, who was bought from Palmeiras in January, will not be eligible to face Real Madrid in the play-off round or, if City progress, in any future European matches this season.

City chose to register fellow new recruits Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov instead in the list they gave to Uefa.

It also includes the injured Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, though the Spaniard could miss the rest of the season as he recovers from a cruciate ligament injury.

Clubs were able to add up to three players to their European squads for the second half of the season but City had made four signings at an initial cost of over £170m.

They opted for £59m forward Marmoush, £49m midfielder Gonzalez and £33m centre-back Khusanov instead of Reis, with the Uzbekistan international preferred to his fellow defender, despite his difficult debut against Chelsea.

Reis, 19, only made 22 appearances for Palmeiras before City bought him in January.

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2025-02-07T12:14:54Z