Balde’s selection for World Cup means that 17 Barcelona players are now in Qatar

• FC Barcelona have a significant representation at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar
• Alejandro Balde in his team brings the number of Barca World Cup participants to 17
• Balde has replaced Valencia’s Jose Luis Gaya

FC Barcelona may not have won La Liga or the Champions League since 2018-19 and 2014-15, respectively, but they will still have a significant representation at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The decision by Spain coach Luis Enrique to include Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde in his team brings the number of Barca World Cup participants to 17.

The club has the most players at the event, followed by Bayern Munich and Manchester City, each with 16 players.

Sadio Mane, a former member of Bayern’s 17-man roster, has been omitted from the Senegal team owing to an injury.

The next three clubs are Al-Sadd SC (Qatar/15), Manchester United (14), and Real Madrid (13).

Balde, 19, has replaced Valencia’s Jose Luis Gaya, who suffered an ankle injury during training, in the Spain national team.

Gaya missed the World Cup due to an ankle injury, with Balde stepping up from the Under-21 side after an impressive start to the season that has seen him play at both left and right back for Barcelona — despite having only 23 first-team appearances in his career and making his Under-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).”

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