Manchester City and Newcastle United are both participating in the 2025/26 Champions League.
The stage of the Swiss league is now complete, the eight rounds are over.
Manchester City squeezed into the last 16 as they finished in the eighth and last of the automatic qualifying places.
Newcastle United will be hoping to join them by getting past Qarabag in their two-legged play-off.
It was so close.
Had Newcastle United taken any of their late chances in Paris, especially Harvey Barnes’, Eddie Howe and his players would have grabbed the automatic qualification spot and Manchester City would have had to go through the play-off process.
However, a Champions League rift has now opened between the two clubs.
A stark reminder that this is anything but a level playing field for Newcastle United as they look to compete with the likes of Manchester City.
Around closing time on Thursday, the clubs still out of the Champions League had to report any changes to their selection for the rest of the competition.
UEFA subsequently published these changes.
Newcastle United
In the black and white corner.
Eddie Howe was able to add…John Ruddy.
The 39-year-old goalkeeper was part of United’s Champions League squad for the rest of the competition. Emil Krafth has to drop out to make room for him (according to the eligibility criteria, NUFC can only fill 21 of the 25 UCL roster spots this season), although the defender is already suffering a long-term injury. Young goalkeeper Max Thompson is on loan at Ayr, so Ruddy will have extra support from Pope and Ramsdale.
Manchester city
Things are a little different in the Sky Blue corner.
Pep Guardiola signs Bournemouth’s best player Antoine Semenyo.
Pep Guardiola signs Marc Guehi, Crystal Palace’s best player.
Not only were they the best two players at these clubs, Semenyo and Guehi would be seen by many/most people as one of the eleven best Premier League players this season.
Manchester City add both players to their Champions League squad for the remainder of the competition.
Not only that… Sverre Nypan recalled from his loan deal at Middlesbrough, Max Alleyne recalled from his loan at Watford.
These two can now also play for Manchester City in the rest of the Champions League competition, or at least play minutes in other competitions to help protect star players. Alleyne played the second half against Newcastle in midweek as Man City advanced to the Carabao Cup final, Nypan was an unused substitute.
The young players count as B-list players for the Champions League, young players under a certain age are extra for the senior selection of the Champions League.
Both young players have excelled in the Championship this season. Alleyne for Watford, while Nypan has made 20 appearances for Middlesbrough and made them one of the favorites for promotion, he is also a Norwegian international who has already played at senior level.
All this, of course, while Manchester City still has 115 Premier League charges hanging over them, endless delays, meaning this has been going on for years and Manchester City’s legal team is still able to delay any outcome… and punishment.
In the meantime, Manchester City just keeps getting stronger and stronger, buying more and more elite players, paying huge wages to sign them (Guehi reportedly earns more than £16 million a year), continuing to wield the financial power they have, thanks to what happened over all those years that the charges relate to, charges for which they may or may not ultimately be found guilty.
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