Answering whether Maicon Cardoso, although playing in the Bundesliga, will have any involvement in the UEFA Champions League this season—he will not.
On 9 April 2026, Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga giants poised to win the top league title this season after 28 matches with 73 points, lead second-placed Borussia Dortmund by 9 points, with only 6 games remaining.
Besides competing for the league title, in the UEFA Champions League, the "Red Devils" remain on the championship path, having won the first leg of the quarterfinals 2-1 away at Real Madrid.
It is known that Maicon Cardoso, the Brazilian-Thai attacker, has played two Bundesliga matches with Bayern Munich's first team. He has a chance to earn a league winner's medal if the club finishes top, as the Bundesliga does not have the Premier League's requirement of a minimum of five appearances.
But will Maicon Cardoso have the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League?
Previously, Maicon has never been included in Bayern's UEFA Champions League squad from the group stage through to the first leg of the quarterfinals, and under the rules, he will certainly not be able to play in this competition this season.
According to Bild, the well-known German media outlet, the reason lies in UEFA's strict regulations requiring clubs to register a 25-player A-list by 2 September 2025 for the entire European competition season. At that time, Maicon was only a U17/U19 player, not part of the first team, so he was not listed.
After the group stage, clubs can add up to three new players to the A-list by 5 February 2026 for the knockout rounds. However, by then, Maicon's development was not prominent enough to be registered in time.
Additionally, Maicon cannot be registered on the B-list either. The B-list allows clubs to include unlimited youth players born on or after 1 January 2004 for each match, provided they have been continuously with the club's youth teams for two years after turning 15 officially. Maicon only joined Bayern in January 2025 to play for the U17 team, and his time with Bayern Global Academy and World Squad since April 2024 does not count as club affiliation under UEFA rules.
Therefore, Maicon does not meet the two-year youth team duration condition and is not eligible to play in European competitions this season.
If he does not play in the UEFA Champions League, will he still have a chance to receive a winner's medal if Bayern wins?
UEFA awards 50 gold medals to the champion team, typically given to players, coaches, and official team staff. The club decides the distribution. Generally, players registered for the final or who played during the season have a definite chance of receiving a medal, alongside the manager and coaching staff who are key behind the scenes.
Thus, in Maicon Cardoso's case, who has not played in the UEFA Champions League, earning a winner's medal is even more difficult. Although the club controls medal distribution, with 34 first-team players registered for the tournament plus coaching staff, the total likely reaches 50 people, making it unlikely for him to receive one.