The big five leagues in Europe are desperate to make the Champions League a closed shop.
It already pretty much is with four clubs from the top four leagues and three from the fifth league qualifying automatically for the group stage and making it harder for the likes of Celtic to do much in the Champions League.
With four rounds of qualification before you even get to the big time, it's practically impossible for a club from a smaller nation to do much damage these days.
But now UEFA could be making it even harder for clubs to qualify with reports in Spain suggesting Atletico Madrid will be automatically included next season - despite currently sitting sixth in La Liga.
It had been reported earlier in the week that Spain would nominate the top four clubs of La Liga for the Champions League spots for next season, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad currently occupying them.
If the league can't be played to a finish, they they would earn the right to go straight into the group stage for the new campaign.
But now Atletico Madrid could leap ahead of one of them with Spanish outlet Cadena COPE reporting that they have been told they will qualify automatically based on their recent performances in Europe.
That points to a similar model that was suggested by Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli in 2019 when he proposed four groups of eight, with clubs such as his own, Manchester United and AC Milan qualifying automatically even if they don't achieve high league positions.
United have missed out on qualifying for Europe's premier competition in three of the last five seasons but if UEFA push through with their plan for Atletico, it opens the door for this to be introduced.
Ironically, Atletico Madrid were understood to be one of the clubs who were staunchly against Agnelli's plans in 2019, along with Chelsea.
And that could cause further issues for Celtic and Rangers - and any other Scottish club who finishes in the top two in seasons to come.
After performances from the Glasgow pair in this season's Europa League pushed Scotland up the co-efficient table, the Premiership will now have two clubs in the Champions League qualifiers from the 2021/22 season.
But with the likes of Atletico set to get automatic places even if they don't play, it will be a huge worry that the competition is becoming a closed shop.
