Andoni Iraola's Tough Decisions at Liverpool: Chiesa and Endo Left Out of Champions League Squad

Andoni Iraola has not waited long to draw a hard line at Liverpool.

Before a ball has even been kicked in Europe under his watch, the new manager has made two of the most brutal calls of his early reign: Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo have both been left out of Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad for the 2026-27 campaign.

No injury smokescreen. No diplomatic half-measures. Just a clear, cold selection decision.

Iraola’s first big statement

Liverpool face Atletico Madrid at Anfield on September 9 to open their league phase, but when UEFA received the List A registration, two established internationals were missing. In their place? A record signing, a new recruit still bedding in, and even an injured forward who will not kick a ball for some time.

UEFA rules limit clubs to 17 non-locally trained players on List A. Every slot matters. Iraola chose to spend his on £123 million arrival Bradley Barcola, fellow summer signing Victor Munoz, and sidelined striker Hugo Ekitike.

Chiesa and Endo did not make the cut.

That choice cuts through any early-season ambiguity about where they sit in the pecking order. In a squad packed with options, they are no longer central figures in the manager’s plans for Europe.

Carragher’s blunt verdict

Jamie Carragher did not soften the blow.

Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender laid out what many at Anfield will already have suspected about the pair’s standing under Iraola.

“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.”

The Sky Sports pundit reserved his sharpest criticism for the club’s decision to keep Endo this summer.

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

Cult status, though, does not earn you a Champions League place. Not in this Liverpool squad, not under this manager.

Marginal roles, long contracts

Both players are tied down on lengthy deals – Endo until 2027, Chiesa until 2028 – but the security of a contract no longer matches their influence on the pitch.

Endo’s decline in importance was already visible last season. He slipped down the midfield hierarchy, restricted to just eight Premier League appearances and a single Champions League outing. For a player once trusted to steady games and plug gaps, that drop-off was stark.

Chiesa’s story has been different, but just as frustrating. His Liverpool career has been repeatedly interrupted by fitness problems. Now 28, he is again nursing a muscle injury, hovering on the fringes rather than driving the attack.

The latest setback is not considered long-term, yet the decision around him says more than any medical bulletin. Iraola has chosen to register long-term absentees such as Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni ahead of a winger who is edging back towards fitness. That is not just a nod to the future; it is a clear indication of where Chiesa stands today.

Europe closes its door – for now

Liverpool’s immediate schedule offers no respite. A domestic clash with Ipswich Town on Friday will test Iraola’s early ideas in the league before Atletico arrive to launch a Champions League run that also includes daunting trips to Inter and Fenerbahce.

Those nights will define Liverpool’s season. Chiesa and Endo will watch them from the outside.

Their opportunities, at least in the short term, shrink to domestic cup ties and the hope of rotation. The only realistic route back into the European picture would be a severe injury crisis prompting one of the limited, permitted changes to the squad list later in the campaign.

Until then, Iraola’s message is unmistakable. The new Liverpool is being built quickly, ruthlessly, and with little room for sentiment. The question now is whether Chiesa and Endo can fight their way back into that vision—or whether this Champions League snub marks the start of the end for their Anfield careers.