AC Milan exclude 3 players from the Champions League squad list

AC Milan will announce today their 25 man Champions League squad list and three players will not make the cut.

In a few hours AC Milan will announced their Champions League squad list. By midnight, the Rossoneri and other participating clubs must deliver to UEFA the list of players who will play in the upcoming edition of Europe’s most prestigious competition.

Stefano Pioli’s team is in the same group with Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Porto. The European adventure will begin at Anfield stadium on Wednesday, 15 September, against the Reds.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that AC Milan have excluded three players from the Champions list. Andrea Conti, Samu Castillejo and new signing Pietro Pellegri will not play in Champions.

The absence of Castillejo and Conti is not a surprise as the Rossoneri desperately tried to sell the duo until the very last hours of the summer mercato. The Italian full-back and the Spanish winger are destined to leave the Red and Blacks in January. Instead, Pellegri is a forced choice and will have his chances in the league. It is no secret that the former Monaco talent was signed to give Pioli an alternative in attack. He will serve as a back-up for Olivier Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

Regarding the selection criteria, Kessie is one of the 8 “locally grown” players required by the UEFA rules (in order not to lose any of the 25 places on list A). That offers Kalulu the chance to be part of the Champions League. Maldini and Plizzari will be included in B list, an extra and unlimited list that must be communicated before each match.

AC Milan Champions League squad list:

Goalkeepers: Maignan, Tatarusanu, Plizzari.

Defenders: Calabria, Ballo-Toure, Romagnoli, Hernandez, Kalulu, Tomori, Kjaer, Florenzi, Gabbia;

Midfielders: Bennacer, Tonali, Diaz, Krunic, Bakayoko, Saelemaekers, Kessie.

Strikers: Giroud, Ibrahimovic, Rebic, Leao, Junior Messias, Maldini.

READ MORE: AC Milan end the mercato with 11 signings