Nico Williams, Sancet, Egiluz and Berenguer omitted from Athletic’s matchday squad

Athletic Club went public with its squad list on Friday, and the omissions were the first thing supporters noticed. Ernesto Valverde named 23 players for Saturday night’s LaLiga match at Real Madrid, but Nico Williams, Oihan Sancet, Unai Egiluz and Alex Berenguer were not included, according to the club’s official call-up. Athletic said the match is the final league fixture of the 2025-26 season and will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu on May 23 at 21:00 CEST. That list matters because Athletic are closing the season away to a high-profile opponent, and the absences strip out several familiar first-team options at once. Yuri Berchiche was also unavailable, according to the context around the squad announcement, leaving Valverde to travel with a group that included younger and less-established names. (athletic-club.eus) ### Which players were actually named in the squad? Athletic’s official squad list included goalkeepers Unai Simón and Padilla, defenders such as Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Yeray, Areso, Laporte and Iñigo Lekue, and midfield and forward options including Vesga, Guruzeta, Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar, Adama, Unai Gómez, Maroan, Nico Serrano, Navarro, Prados, Izeta, Rego and Gift. The club said the traveling party would leave from Loiu on Saturday morning and arrive in Madrid around 12:15 p.m. local time at the Eurostars Tower Madrid hotel. (athletic-club.eus) The 23-man list did not give reasons for each omission in the text visible on the club site, but it confirmed by simple inclusion and exclusion who Valverde had available for the final-round trip. That made the presence of Prados and Gift stand out even more than usual. ### Why do Prados and Elijah Gift stand out? (athletic-club.eus) Beñat Prados was one of the names in the squad published by Athletic on May 22, and Elijah Gift was also included in the official traveling list. In the reporting around the call-up, Gift was described as arriving from Bilbao Athletic, giving the squad announcement a clear academy angle on the eve of the Bernabéu match. (athletic-club.eus) For a final-day away game at Real Madrid, those selections suggest Valverde is finishing the season with a thinner pool than usual. Athletic’s published list showed no late additions beyond the 23 named players, so the emphasis shifted from the absent regulars to the younger options who did make the trip. (athletic-club.eus) ### What does the timing of the announcement tell us? May 22 was the date of Athletic’s official squad release, one day before the match itself. The club said the game was part of LaLiga EA Sports matchday 38, the last round of the 2025-26 campaign, and specified a Saturday night kickoff at the Bernabéu. (athletic-club.eus) Real Madrid’s official website also listed the match for Saturday, May 23, at 9:00 p.m. local time. That aligns with Athletic’s own schedule notice and places the squad news in the final pre-match window rather than as an earlier provisional list. ### Where can supporters follow the game? Athletic said on May 20 that the match would kick off at 21:00 CEST and published a global TV guide for supporters following from outside Spain. (athletic-club.eus) In the United States and Puerto Rico, the club listed kickoff times ranging from 12:00 in San Francisco to 15:00 in Miami and San Juan, with ESPN named among the broadcasters. (realmadrid.com) Saturday’s next step is straightforward: Athletic face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on May 23, and the club’s official channels said the match begins at 21:00 CEST. (athletic-club.eus)