The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has opened a disciplinary investigation into Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus over their involvement in the launch of the breakaway European Super League (ESL), announced the European football governing body on Wednesday.

"UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary inspectors have today appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding a potential violation of UEFA's legal framework by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus in connection with the so-called 'Super League' project," said UEFA in a statement.

The sanctions Barca, Real and Juventus face can be a two-year ban from the UEFA Champions League, according to ESPN. If that goes through, all three clubs will lose a massive amount of revenue. Barca are just about to negotiate a contract extension with football superstar Lionel Messi – it's hard to imagine Messi will agree to stay in a team that will miss the Champions League for two years.

Real are trying to recruit Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain. It took PSG about 145 million euros (about $175.2 million) to land the French genius. Even if they are willing to sell him, how much will it cost Real? Moreover, how much can the Spanish giants offer after their president, Florentino Perez, admitted in April that Real are 900 million pounds (about $1.27 billion) in debt?

As for Juventus, one of the major reasons the Old Lady missed this season's Serie A title was a lack of money to strength their lineup. If they continue to miss two years in revenue from European competitions, it can be a vicious circle for the club.

There were originally 12 clubs participating in the establishment of the ESL. Nine of them – Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan – already dropped out, signing a "Club Commitment Declaration" and agreeing to "take all steps within their power" to end their connection with the ESL.

They also accepted punishments including 15 million euros (about $18.1 million) in fines and withholding five percent of their revenue from competitions next season.

By contrast, Barca, Real and Juventus refused to quit the ESL as well as the "intolerable" pressure from UEFA. In response, they released a joint statement that read: "The founding clubs have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures, threats, and offenses to abandon the project. This is intolerable under the rule of law and Tribunals have already ruled in favor of the Super League proposal, ordering FIFA and UEFA to, either directly or through their affiliated bodies, refrain from taking any action which may hinder this initiative in any way while court proceedings are pending."

(Cover photo by CGTN's Li Wenyi)