The penalty for depriving Manchester City of participating in European football competitions in the next two seasons may prompt coach Pep Guardiola to rebuild the team after failing to compete for the Premier League title this season.
The European Union imposed the game on City on Friday, noting that the club committed violations of the rules of fair financial play amid City's efforts to strengthen the strength of its squad next season.
If the punishment is carried out, City will have more difficulties attracting the talent Guardiola needs to fight Liverpool.
Liverpool may win the league title early next month, topping the competition by 22 points from second-placed City, who have won the title in the past two seasons.
City are still in the Champions League this year, and Real Madrid will face the final price later this month.
But regardless of his career this season, his near-term future in European football appears in the hands of lawyers and judges.
The biggest question mark concerns the future of Guardiola himself, and the Spanish coach has made no secret of his intense desire to win the Champions League title that he has not achieved since 2011 when he crowned him with Barcelona.
If he does not win the title this season, with City being excluded from the next two versions, it will be a major blow to the coach, whose contract expires at the end of the next season.
Doubts have already been raised about Guardiola's contract extension and whether he intends to rest or take up a new challenge.
An important factor in Guardiola's stay in Manchester is his good relationship with the football director of the club, Czech Begiren, who gave him the opportunity to drive in Barcelona, and the CEO of Citi Ferran Soriano, who is also a former official in Barcelona.
Even if Guardiola feels it is wrong to jump off the ship now, his players may not feel the same.
Outstanding midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 28, is running a race against time to win the Champions League title, and Rahim Sterling reached the peak of brilliance in his career at the age of 25 and became the type of player that the major clubs now require.
City may turn from a hunter to a prey in the transfer market, especially since Guardiola's appeal is no longer a decisive factor now, and with the striking brilliance of the Reds, Liverpool may represent the best choice for the stars in the Premier League.
City appears to be the only English team able to stand up to Liverpool's clash with German coach Juergen Klopp, so the form of the English Premier League in the coming years may be decided in a court in Lausanne, which if confirmed the decision to deprive the City, the Reds would be almost unrivaled.