Al-Hilal’s Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim has left Peruvian star forward Andre Carrillo out of the 49-man squad taking part in the remainder of the 2021 AFC Champions League, Arabic sports daily Arriyadiyah has reported.
Only four overseas players are allowed to be registered per club for the round-of-16 clash against Iran’s Esteghlal, which will be played over one leg.
The move comes as major surprise as Carrillo scored the winning goal against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in the first leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League final, which the Riyadh club went on to win 3-0 on aggregate after winning the second leg 2-0 at the Saitama Stadium.
Jardim’s foreign quartet for the knockout stages of Asia’s premier club competition are Jang Hyun-soo of South Korea, Matheus Pereira of Brazil, Moussa Marega Mali and Bafetimbi Gomis of France.
The Saudi champions will meet Esteghlal on Sept. 13 at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.
