In the late afternoon on Monday, Spanish national team boss Luis Enrique announced his squad for the preparation of the Europa League, a move that then sparked widespread discussion. One notable decision was that Enrique did not include any Real Madrid players in the list.
Prior to that, the Spanish media had speculated that Enrique might not invite Real Madrid players, and true to form, there were no Real Madrid players on the list.
This season, Real Madrid captain Ramos suffered from injuries and failed to make the Spanish national team. Real Madrid players such as Asensio and Nacho also failed to make the cut. This marks the first time that the Spanish national team has failed to call up a Real Madrid player in a major tournament.
Enrique chose only 24 players in his list, despite the Europa League rules that allow for a 26-man roster to be submitted. He explained that this was to give every player a chance, and based on past experience, a team only needs about 18 to 19 players.
At Barcelona, Alba, Busquets and Pedri were selected. For Atletico Madrid, Marcos Llorente was selected as a defender and Koke also made the list.
In goal, Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David De Gea (Manchester United) and Robert Sanchez (Brighton) are all included.
The backline includes Jose Gaya (Valencia), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Eric Garcia (Manchester City), Diego Llorente (Leeds United), Aspilicueta (Chelsea), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid).
In midfield, Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), and Favian Ruiz (Napoli) were all selected.
The forward line features Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzaval (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Gerard Moreno (Villarreal), Ferran Torres (Manchester City), Adama Traore (Wolverhampton Wanderers), and Saravia (Paris Saint-Germain).
