Manchester City bend UEFA Financial Fair Play rules by naming just one 'club-trained' player in their squad... three fewer than Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool

Manchester City have been allowed only one club-trained player in their Champions League squad for the coming season
This is three fewer than Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool
A UEFA Financial Fair Play ruling meant their squad was reduced from 25 to 21 but the governing body has now compensated for this
Dedryck Boyata qualifies as City's club-trained player
City travel to Bayern Munich for their first group match on Wednesday

Manchester City have been allowed to name only one club-trained player in their squad for the opening stages of this season's Champions League - three less than Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

City, despite having failed UEFA's FFP ruling which meant their squad had to be reduced from 25 to 21 for the tournament, have been allowed to reduce their non-overseas quota to five to compensate for the reduction, according to T he

Clubs in the Champions League are meant to have at least four 'club-trained' and four 'association-trained' players in their 25-man squads, but UEFA have seemingly accommodated City's situation.

Manuel Pellegrini has been handed a boost ahead of Manchester City's return to the Champions League next week after UEFA allowed their squad's non-overseas quota to be reduced from 25 to 21 for the tournament

Champions League football returns to the Etihad Stadium when City host Roma on September 30. They open their group stage campaign against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday

Of City's five non-overseas quota, Dedryck Boyata is the only club-trained player, with Joe Hart, James Milner, Gael Clichy and Frank Lampard making up the rest as association-trained players.

Boyata, a Belgian-born midfielder signed as a teenager from Brussels, has made just 11 Premier League appearances for City since joining in 2009. He was given a new contract in May to keep him at the club until 2016.

Daniel Geey, a football law specialist, told the Independent: 'UEFA have effectively rewritten their home-grown player rule. There is nothing in Uefa or FFP regulations about the home-grown rule changing.'

Dedryck Boyata, who has made just 11 Premier League appearances for City since joining in 2009, qualifies as the club-trained player in the Champions League squad for this season

James Milner, seen here scoring for City in their win over Bayern last season, counts as an association-trained player under the Financial Fair Player regulations

It is thought that players union Fifpro - with full support of City - started making overtures to Uefa that they would potentially take legal action over theoretical restriction of trade. Uefa eventually relaxed the restriction and allowed City to have five non-overseas players, meaning 16 foreign players rather than the predicted 13.

The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea may argue that Uefa have let City off the hook. If Champions League squad was going to be shrunk from 25 to 21, this would assume proportionally that eight home-grown players should become seven, not five.

City believe they have fully complied with Uefa's rules with regards to the composition of their Champions League squad.