Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media

Declan Carr

Sun 17 May 2026 10:10, UK

Ross Barkley will not be involved in the Europa League final for Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The former Everton and Chelsea midfielder was not included in Unai Emery‘s squad for the competition, which means he will not feature against Freiburg on 20 May.

He put in a dismal showing in the 4-2 win over Liverpool when he came on from the bench, so the Spanish manager will obviously be relieved that he cannot be selected, and the decision is out of his hands.

The Villans are looking to win their first trophy since the 1996 League Cup win, and the 32-year-old would not have been anywhere near the starting line-up if he were eligible.

Barkley has shown flashes for Villa, but having him in the squad would have harmed Villa’s chances of lifting the trophy.

How did Barkley perform against Liverpool?

Villa brought Barkley on in the 45th minute of their clash against Arne Slot’s side, and he failed to have the desired impact in a true disasterclass performance.

According to data from Fotmob, he completed 91 per cent of his passes but failed to create a single chance for his teammates.

He had just 29 touches and did not have a single touch in the Reds’ box, which is poor for an attacking midfielder.

He did not have much impact defensively, as he made one tackle, one clearance, one block and three recoveries.

In terms of duels, he won three of six ground duels and one of three aerial duels, for a 50 per cent and 33 per cent success rate in those metrics.

Why is Barkley not in the squad?

Morgan Rogers is the preferred option in the attacking midfield role, but he could have been shifted to the left flank, had Barkley been in the squad.

However, both the 23-year-old and Emi Buendia are ahead of the 33-cap England international in the Villa Park pecking order, and there was not enough space for all three.

That decision looks justified as the former got a goal and an assist, and the latter was a handful in his 85 minutes on the pitch, creating several chances and giving Slot’s side nightmares despite not grabbing a contribution himself.

He could have been included when the second registration phase came about, but the likes of Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, and Lamare Bogarde got in instead of him.