Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino could find themselves with the chance to line up against Liverpool in Champions League competition in the future if Saudi Arabia gets its wish.

The former Reds trio all exited Merseyside this summer as the mammoth spend from the Saudi Pro League, borne from their four biggest sides having been acquired by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) earlier this year, saw talent from across Europe head to the Middle Eastern nation.

Firmino joined Al-Ahli upon his Reds contract ending, while Henderson completed a move to the Steven Gerrard-managed Al-Ettifaq in an initial £12m deal, and Fabinho joined Al-Ittihad in a £40m move shortly after, meaning Liverpool have had to go back into the market for midfield reinforcements.

The major spend by the Saudi Pro League’s top clubs, dominated by PIF-owned big four of Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and A-Nassr, is part of a wider government strategy to increase the profile of the league and make it one of the world’s best as the Gulf nation seeks to change the narrative and diversify revenues away from oil and gas by using sport as a driver for change.

Players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar, Riyadh Mahrez, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will all be part of Saudi’s top league this season. And while having some of the world’s best and most recognised players competing, multiple reports, including in Spanish newspaper Marca and Italian media outlet Corriere dello Sport have claimed that a plan is forming to lobby for a wild card for the Pro-League winners to compete in the UEFA Champions League from 2024/25, the season when the competition format changes under the planned ‘Swiss Model’, where clubs will play in a league system and will have more games.

It is claimed that the Saudi government will attempt to lobby UEFA over the inclusion of a team from the nation that wins the Pro League, something that would be an unprecedented and potentially seismic move in world football.

However, while tentative discussions are claimed to have been held, getting a wild card entry such as reportedly being proposed over the line in the next few years would be incredibly difficult, near impossible. The forthcoming ‘Swiss Model’ has already been criticised in some quarters for favouring the biggest teams due to the increase in matches and money that will be on offer to them for success. There have also been heated discussions about just how qualification for the competition will work.

There is a seemingly never ending push to make every competition bigger and more extravagant, adding new interest for new audiences. The addition of teams from outside of Europe would certainly form part of that conversation if the Saudi Pro League continues to acquire top talent away from European football.

FIFA will introduce its revamped and expanded Club World Cup competition from 2025 in a bid to turn that into a competition that will have true global appeal now that other leagues outside of Europe are garnering serious attention. But for Saudi Arabia, they will know that the Champions League remains the gold standard for club football, and exposure in such a competition could be priceless.