Chelsea have officially named their squad for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League group stage, and the selections by manager Enzo Maresca have raised eyebrows. Despite a blockbuster summer spending spree, several high-profile names have been left out of the A List, including Raheem Sterling and deadline-day signing Facundo Buonanotte.
Full Squad Breakdown : Goalkeepers Robert Sanchez Filip Jorgensen Defenders Tosin Adarabioyo Benoit Badiashile Trevoh Chalobah Levi Colwill Marc Cucurella Wesley Fofana Malo Gusto Jorell Hato Reece James Midfielders Moises Caicedo Dario Essugo Enzo Fernandez Andrey Santos Forwards Liam Delap Alejandro Garnacho Jamie Gittens Marc Guiu Pedro Neto Cole Palmer Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian
List B (Youth Eligible Players) Josh Acheampong Tyrique George and Romeo Lavia
Players on List B must be born on or after 1 January 2004 and have spent at least two uninterrupted years at the club. Romeo Lavia qualifies under these criteria, while Buonanotte does not.
Notable Absentees are; Raheem Sterling: Despite being one of Chelsea’s top earners, Sterling was not included in the squad. Facundo Buonanotte: The Brighton loanee joined on deadline day but failed to meet UEFA’s eligibility requirements for List B and was not added to List A. Nicolas Jackson: Interestingly, Jackson has been named in Bayern Munich’s squad and could face Chelsea in the group stage.
UEFA Squad Rules Impact Chelsea were only able to name 24 players on their A List due to having just three club-trained players (Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill). UEFA rules require four club-trained players to register a full 25-man squad.
Group Stage Fixtures : Chelsea will face a challenging group featuring: Bayern Munich (away opener) Barcelona, Napoli, Benfica, Ajax, Qarabag , Atalanta and Pafos
