Iraola's Bold Decision at Liverpool: Chiesa and Endo Left Out of Champions League Squad

Andoni Iraola has wasted no time laying down the law at Liverpool. Before a ball is kicked in Europe, he has already made two high-profile casualties.

Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo are out of Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad for the 2026-27 campaign. Not injured-list out. Not temporarily omitted. Simply not registered.

Iraola’s first big call

The decision arrived with Liverpool’s official List A submission ahead of their opener against Atletico Madrid on September 9. Under UEFA rules, clubs can only name 17 non-locally trained players in that group.

Iraola chose his 17. Chiesa and Endo did not make the cut.

Instead, those valuable slots went to £123 million signing Bradley Barcola, fellow summer arrival Victor Munoz, and even injured forward Hugo Ekitike. Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni, both long-term absentees, were also registered, underlining how far down the pecking order Chiesa has slipped.

For two full internationals still under contract until 2027 (Endo) and 2028 (Chiesa), the message could hardly be clearer.

Carragher’s blunt verdict

Jamie Carragher did not bother to sugar-coat it.

Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender argued that Iraola’s decision reflects a deeper truth about where the pair now stand at Anfield.

“Liverpool have got two players in the squad who are never going to play,” he said. “And there are all these quotas, you can only have 17 players and all that. They have got Chiesa and Endo. It’s like they are never going to kick a ball.”

He was even more scathing about the club’s choice to keep Endo around this summer.

“Endo should have been moved on,” Carragher added. “He has done great, a bit of a cult hero.”

The affection is there. The faith clearly isn’t.

Marginal roles, shrinking futures

The numbers back up the sense of drift.

Endo’s influence faded badly last season. The midfielder managed just eight Premier League appearances and only one outing in the Champions League. From dependable stopgap to fringe figure, his role has shrunk with each passing month.

Chiesa, meanwhile, has never really got going on Merseyside. His time at Anfield has been punctured by repeated fitness issues, and he is again sidelined with a muscle problem. This latest injury is not thought to be long-term, yet Iraola still chose to register players facing lengthy layoffs ahead of a winger supposedly close to returning.

That selection call says more than any press conference ever could.

Europe moves on without them

Liverpool’s schedule will not wait for bruised egos.

Iraola’s side face Ipswich Town in the league on Friday before the spotlight swings to Europe and a high-intensity clash with Atletico Madrid at Anfield. Inter and Fenerbahce loom later in a demanding league-phase programme that will test the depth and adaptability of this new-look squad.

Chiesa and Endo will watch that journey from the outside. Barring a serious injury crisis that forces a permitted change to the list later in the competition, their European season is effectively over before it starts.

Their immediate horizon now narrows to domestic cup ties and scraps for minutes in a crowded squad. For two players of their pedigree, the question is no longer whether they can revive their Liverpool careers in Europe.

It’s whether those careers still have a future at Anfield at all.