MANCHESTER UNITED CONFIRM 25-MAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SQUAD

Man United will return to the Champions League this season and they have named their European squad ahead of the competition starting next week.

The 2026/27 Champions League league phase starts next week

Manchester United have named their 25-man Champions League squad as they prepare for their return to the competition.

United kick off their European campaign next week with a home game against Sabah FK. The other seven sides the Reds will face in the league phase of the Champions League are Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Sporting, RB Leipzig, Villarreal and Como.

Teams competing in this season's Champions League had until Wednesday evening to submit their squads. There are a number of high-profile names not included on United's 25-man list, including Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro. However, both will still be eligible to play in the Champions League.

Teams are required to submit an 'A list' of players who can play in the Champions League, which is the list that has now been confirmed.

There is no requirement to include any player on the 'A list' who was born on or after 1 January 2005 and has been eligible to play for the club for two consecutive years since turning 15 (or three years including a loan spell). Any player who falls into this category is added to a 'B list', and this is submitted to UEFA either on or before the day prior to a Champions League match.

The 'A list' that has been submitted to UEFA is now locked in for the league phase of the competition. However, should United reach the knockout rounds, they will have until 4 February 2027 to register a maximum of three new players.

United's 25-man Champions League squad:

Goalkeepers: Karl Darlow, Tom Heaton, Senne Lammens, Dermot Mee

Defenders: Patrick Dorgu, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven

Midfielders: Carlos Baleba, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, Manuel Ugarte

Forwards: Amad, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Marcus Rashford, Benjamin Sesko, Joshua Zirkzee, Tynan Thompson

- Ross Jackson

NEMANJA MATIC'S POST AFTER ANDRE ONANA S MISTAKE IN LYON 2-2 MAN UTD GOES VIRAL

Andre Onana made two big mistakes as Manchester United drew 2-2 in their Europa League quarter-final first leg match against Lyon on Thursday evening. The Cameroonian, who has come under-fire after making a plethora of errors since signing for the Red Devils, was at fault for Thiago Almada's 25th minute opener as he misjudged a cross.

United battled back, with Leny Yoro's strike and a late goal from Joshua Zirkzee looking like United would come away from France with the victory. However, Lyon restored parity with virtually the last kick of the game, courtesy of another Onana error.

The ball fell to Georges Mikautadze inside the box and his shot was parried by United's number one straight into the path of Rayan Cherki, who made no mistake from close range, ensuring the game ended 2-2.

Nemanja Matic's Post After Andre Onana's Mistakes Goes Viral

The Serbian was involved in a social media spat with Onana ahead of the game

Onana's performance was even more significant given he was involved in a big spat with Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matic ahead of the game. The war of words started when Onana claimed that United were 'way better' than Lyon.

That irked the former United midfielder, who responded by claiming that Onana should be careful with what he says as he is 'one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United history'.

“If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United history, you need to take care what you are talking [about]. If David de Gea or Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar said that, then I would question myself. But if you are, statistically, one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s modern history, he needs to show that before he says. So, we will see.”

Onana was quick to respond to Matic's words as he mocked him for failing to win a trophy during his time at United. He wrote: "At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same."

It was Matic who got the last laugh, though. The 36-year-old, who was an unused substitute for the match at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, took to social media after the match and his post has gone viral. He posted an image of his son with a plethora of United shirts, including that of their third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

While the shirts in the picture all belonged to Matic's ex-teammates at United, football fans have interpreted the post as a way of hitting back at United's number one, given his son was posing next to Heaton's shirt and not Onana's.

"Elite-tier hating", one wrote, while another said: "Noted, never disrespect Matic." A fan stated: "Top tier hating here. Game's back", while another claimed: "Matic is an even better hater than footballer, and he was one of the world's best in his prime."

United will welcome Lyon to Old Trafford for the second leg on Thursday April 17. Onana, if he is picked, will no doubt be looking to prove his critics wrong and turn in a much, much better performance.

- James Stroud