Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are three of Europe’s most high-profile clubs.
Between them, they boast 96 league titles and 20 European Cups. It is inconceivable to imagine the Champions League without one of them each season, never mind all three.
Like Liverpool, the trio were all founding members of the controversial European Super League last month.
But while the Reds withdrew within 48 hours, along with eight of their fellow founders, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus continue to persist with the project.
On Tuesday it was confirmed by UEFA that they had opened disciplinary proceedings into the three sides with an official statement reading: “Following an investigation conducted by UEFA ethics and disciplinary inspectors in connection with the so-called ‘Super League’ project, disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Juventus FC for a potential violation of UEFA’s legal framework.”
It has been reported that UEFA could even expel the trio from next season’s Champions League as a result, though such a decision would inevitably spark a further legal battle ahead of next season’s tournament.
But, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus currently set to join Liverpool in pot two for next year’s group-stages, what would a 2021/22 Champions League look like without the trio?
Well, for starters, they would be replaced by the sides who finished fifth and sixth in La Liga and fifth in Serie A.
Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Napoli would all find themselves handed a reprieve and competing in next season's Champions League as a result.
If you’re interested, Celta Vigo and Granada would then compete in the Europa League, while Roma would also enter Europe's secondary competition with Sassuolo stepping up to the Europa Conference League.
But what of the seedings? Afterall, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are Champions League mainstays, boasting domestic and European success year after year and guaranteed to be in pot one or pot two as a result.
In contrast, the teams stepping up, with less European pedigree behind them, do not.
As things stand, seven of the eight teams set to be in pot one for next season have been confirmed.
They are domestic champions Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lille and Sporting Lisbon and Europa League winners Villarreal.
Should Chelsea win the Champions League on Saturday, they will join pot one. Otherwise, they will find themselves in pot two with Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg instead stepping up.
Pot two is currently made up of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Liverpool, Sevilla and Chelsea. However, should the Blues win the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund would be upgraded to pot two.
Of course, if the trio are expelled, Dortmund would find themselves in pot two regardless with Porto and Ajax the other two pot three teams promoted as a result.
Napoli, RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Besiktas and Dynamo Kiev would make up five of the teams in pot three, along with Zenit if Chelsea win the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg and Benfica would also join pot three if they make it through their respective Champions League qualifiers.
Elsewhere, AC Milan, VfL Wolfsburg, and Club Brugge are already guaranteed places in the group-stages and are likely to end up in pot four, along with La Liga replacements Real Sociedad and Real Betis, depending on who progresses through the qualifiers.
If we assume the remaining three sides based on the highest-ranking European coefficients then Dinamo Zagreb, Slavia Prague and Olympiacos would make up pot four.
However, they join the qualifiers at various stages and with the likes of Monaco, Rangers, PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Celtic also looking to progress, alongside recent Reds opponents Spartak Moscow, Genk, Red Star Belgrade and Midtjylland, those final Champions League group-stage places remain very much up for grabs.
While any expulsion of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus would not have an immediate impact on Liverpool, with the Reds unable to face the trio in the group-stages anyway, it would certainly still change the set-up of next year’s tournament.
And such a decision would only boost the Reds’ chances as they look to reach their third European Cup final under Jurgen Klopp, with three less European heavyweights to contend with.
