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Neither Federico Chiesa nor Wataru Endō were included in Liverpool's squad for the league phase of the 2026–27 Champions League.
This marks the second consecutive season that Chiesa has been left out of Liverpool's Champions League squad, though the Italian international was later brought in as a replacement for the injured Giovanni Leoni during last season's group stage.
Endō finds himself in the same position as Chiesa. Neither player has featured under new head coach Andoni Iraola so far, with Chiesa sidelined through injury and Endō remaining an unused substitute.
Despite this, injured players Leoni, Conor Bradley, and Hugo Ekitiké have all been included in the squad.
Liverpool's Champions League Roster
Goalkeepers: Alisson, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman, Vítězslav Jaroš.
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk, Ronald Araújo, Jérémy Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Kostas Tsimikas, Luke Chambers, Isaac Mabaya.
Midfielders: Florian Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, James McConnell.
Forwards: Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola, Hugo Ekitiké, Cody Gakpo, Victor Muñoz.
Why Liverpool Were Forced Into Decision
Last season, then-manager Arne Slot faced a difficult situation when assembling his Champions League squad. Clubs are permitted to register up to 25 players, but a minimum of eight must be homegrown. If a club falls short of that homegrown requirement, they forfeit one squad spot for each player missing from the quota.
Consequently, Liverpool registered only 22 players for last season's league phase, with Chiesa being the high-profile senior player initially left out.
This time around, Liverpool and new manager Iraola have managed to fill the full 25-man roster, though several spots are occupied by academy products — including fullbacks Luke Chambers and Isaac Mabaya, midfielder James McConnell, and fourth-choice goalkeeper Vítězslav Jaroš.
These are the types of players who were omitted last season, yet Liverpool continue to face the same challenge in satisfying the homegrown quota — a problem compounded by Curtis Jones's departure to Inter Milan. While Iraola has enough players to meet the full requirement, there remain too many senior players who do not qualify as homegrown.
Inevitably, some players had to miss out, and Iraola has chosen to leave out Chiesa and Endō. The latter's exclusion is also attributed to Iraola's confidence in McConnell and, in particular, young Trey Nyoni, whose age and time at the club mean he does not need to be formally registered.
As was the case with Chiesa last season, either player could still be added as a replacement should a squad member suffer a long-term injury, and Iraola will also have the opportunity to submit a revised squad following the January transfer window.