Published: Nov 20, 2022, 08:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 20, 2022, 10:34 AM (IST)
New Delhi: Barcelona may not have won any major title in the last four years but the La Liga giants are making their presence felt in Qatar at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Spain coach Luis Enrique’s decision to call left-back Alejandro Balde into his squad means that Barcelona have supplied 17 players to the Qatar World Cup.
Barcelona now have most players in Qatar followed by Bayern Munich and Manchester City, who have 16 players each in the tournament now.
Bayern Munich initially had 17 players but with Senegal striker Sadio Mane ruled out due to injury, the Bundeliga giants dropped one count. The three clubs are followed by Al-Sadd SC (15), Manchester United (14) and Real Madrid (13), according to Xinhua.
The 19-year-old Balde has replaced Jose Luis Gaya of Valencia in the Spain squad after Gaya suffered an ankle injury in a training session.
Gaya missed the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury, with Balde stepping up from the U-21 side after an impressive start to the season, which has seen him play at both left and right back for Barcelona — although he has just 23 first-team appearances in his career and only made his U-21 debut in September.
Spain coach Enrique admitted it has been “the worst day for having to tell Gaya that he had to leave the squad, due to an injury that is not that serious, but with the games so close, it would have been a risk (to keep him).”
