Paulinho’s debut for Barcelona will not happen in their season opener against Real Betis after the Brazilian was ruled out due to bureaucratic issues.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde called up eighteen-man squad for the match on Sunday but was unable to include his first recruit since shipping out Neymar to PSG.
According to MARCA, his frmer club Guangzhou Evergrande and the La Liga giants have still not finished processing and exchanging all of the necessary documentation, leading to an embarrassing situation for the Catalans.
While Valverde will have to do withouthicaptain Andres Iniesta, Rafinha and Suárez, the good news isthat both Piqué and Thomas Vermaelen have been passed fit.
Barca’s La Liga opening day squad: Ter Stegen, Cillessen, Semedo, Piqué, Rakitic, Sergio, Denis Suárez, Arda, Messi, Mascherano, Deulofeu, Paco Alcácer, Jordi Alba, Digne, Sergi Roberto, André Gomes, Aleix Vidal and Umtiti.
