Andoni Iraola's Ruthless Decisions at Liverpool
Andoni Iraola has not wasted time showing whose Liverpool this is.
Before a ball is kicked in the Champions League, the new manager has drawn a hard line, leaving Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo out of his 25-man squad for Europe. Two established internationals, two sizeable names – and now two spectators when Atletico Madrid visit Anfield on September 9.
This is not a clerical oversight. It is a statement.
Ruthless choices under tight rules
UEFA’s registration rules give managers little room for sentiment. Only 17 non-locally trained players are allowed on List A. Every slot matters. Every decision exposes a hierarchy.
Iraola has chosen to spend those slots on £123 million signing Bradley Barcola, fellow summer arrival Victor Munoz, and even injured forward Hugo Ekitike. That last name is the one that stings most for Chiesa. Ekitike will not kick a ball for some time, yet he still makes the cut ahead of a forward who is edging back from a muscle problem.
The message is clear: this is about the future of Iraola’s Liverpool, not the reputations inherited from the past.
Carragher’s blunt verdict
Jamie Carragher did not bother dressing it up. Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender laid bare what many suspected about Chiesa and Endo’s place in the new order.
“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.”
Carragher then turned the focus on the club’s summer decision-making, especially around Endo.
“Endo should have been moved on,” he added. “He has done great, a bit of a cult hero.”
It was praise with a full stop, not a comma. Appreciation for what the Japanese midfielder has given, followed by the suggestion that his chapter at Anfield should already be closed.
Two careers drifting to the margins
The numbers underline why Iraola felt able to be so ruthless.
Endo’s role had already shrunk dramatically last season. Eight Premier League appearances. One Champions League game. For a player in his 30s, with the midfield rebuilt around younger, more dynamic options, that is not a platform. It is a warning.
Chiesa’s story is different but no less stark. His Liverpool career has been a stop-start blur of setbacks. The talent is not in question, but availability is. At 28, he should be entering his peak years. Instead, he is again sidelined by a muscle injury, watching others move ahead of him.
The injury is not considered long term, which makes Iraola’s call all the more telling. Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni, both long-term absentees, have been registered ahead of a player closer to returning. That is not just about fitness. That is about trust, planning, and where a manager sees his project heading.
Europe closes its door – for now
For Liverpool, the focus is split. A domestic trip to Ipswich Town on Friday, then straight into a demanding Champions League league phase that includes journeys to Inter and Fenerbahce as well as the opener against Atletico.
For Chiesa and Endo, the calendar looks very different.
Their season, at least in Europe, has been shrunk to a what-if. They will train, they will wait, and they will likely have to make do with domestic cup ties and whatever league minutes come their way. Only a serious injury crisis – and a permitted squad alteration – would drag them back into continental relevance.
Iraola has made his bet. He has backed his new signings, his injured prospects, his long-term plan. Chiesa and Endo remain under contract until 2027 and 2028, but contracts do not guarantee status. Not at this level. Not under a manager intent on reshaping a dressing room in his own image.
The door to Europe has not been locked forever. But for now, it has been slammed firmly in their faces. The question is simple: when it opens again, will either of them still be standing at it?
