It's a hypothetical conundrum that's frequently being discussed in the football community, the prospect of Leicester City, once more, doing the impossible. After last season's astounding Premier League triumph, the Foxes saw such great form translate to the UEFA Champions League; Ranieri's men topped 'Group G' with 13 points, losing just once to Porto.
At the same time, though, arose an equally surprising dip in league form, with the champions of last season now in the midst of a relegation dogfight, following a 2-0 defeat to Swansea City on Sunday.
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At 14 defeats (four times more than their tally last term), the Foxes have lost the third highest number of games in the division and are being tipped by many for the drop. In the Champions League, though, the top spot in the group phase means an okay draw in the last sixteen where they'll face Sevilla, a strong side but beatable given Leicester's form in the competition.
It's highly improbable that Ranieri will mastermind a Champions League victory but if it were to happen, the team's focus would almost certainly have shifted away from domestic success, rendering the chances of both happening possible. So, what if Leicester City get relegated but win the Champions League?
#1 Leicester will be well financially fuelled
From a monetary perspective, the combination of both such events would be incredibly beneficial for the Foxes.
A naturally affluent league, even the bottom three in the Premier League are due great financial reward, with Aston Villa receiving £87 million over a course of three terms after finishing rock bottom in the 2015/16 season.
In fact, parachute payments seem to outweigh the winnings of a Champions League winner in the long term. The campaign before last Barcelona won just over £61 million for lifting European football's elite crown, just under £20 million what Villa will recoup over three seasons.
Therefore if Leicester were to win the Champions League but suffer relegation, they'd immediately receive a big total for their continental successes, as well as a very reasonable package in the few seasons to follow. Of course, there'd be a need for the money to repair the damage of relegation, though, including squad revamping, so it wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows.
#2 Vardy and Mahrez would still leave
A massive handicap on Leicester's stellar success last term was that their best players attracted attention from elsewhere, meaning Leicester needed to tie down new deals with, specifically, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.
The latter demanded £100,000 to stay put with the Foxes which they paid out. However, they also inserted clauses into Vardy’s contract and a host of other players' contracts when boosting their wages.
The clause claims that Leicester are entitled to cut the wages of their players significantly should the club get relegated to the championship, with the biggest reduction thought to be around the 40% mark.
Imagine if that applied to Mahrez - the Algerian see his wages reduced to £40,000 per week. Even with the Champions League prize money, it's unlikely the club would still be able to afford the existing wage structure and so Vardy and Mahrez would most likely face significant pay cuts. That's the first contributing factor to why the pair would head for the exit door.
The second factor meanwhile is that they may feel they have already demonstrated loyalty by staying at the King Power for another season and now need a move that suits their careers.
Vardy is ageing and would need a club with Premier League status to maintain his place in the England squad, whilst Mahrez has attracted attention from the likes of Barcelona in the past. Not only that but each of them would undoubtedly soar in value and demand further if they navigated Leicester towards a Champions League crown, so there'd be a host of clubs ready to submit bids.
The Champions League may be a tremendous trophy but it doesn't go much beyond that and the relegation would play more of a role in the long-term future of the club and its players.
#3 Flabbergasting fixture list
A slightly less serious point but no less true, the amalgamation of teams Leicester would face the season following this combination of events would be a bizarre one. Winning the Champions League guarantees a team a place in the competition the following campaign. Therefore Leicester would be a championship club but would still be playing Champions League football on the side.
England's second tier is grinding enough, demanding 46 games a season from its sides. Add on a further number of EFL Cup and FA Cup fixtures and that total can easily surpass 50. The Champions League would require a minimum of six group games. If Leicester make it to the fifth round of the FA Cup, the fourth round of the League Cup and the last sixteen of the Champions League, that's 61 matches in a single season.
One week Ranieri's boys could lock horns with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, meanwhile preparing for the arrival of Scunthorpe United the following weekend - strange indeed.
#4 Ranieri would get the sack
It really is a testament to one of the most despicable aspects of modern day football that the Tinkerman is leading the Premier League 'sack race' at the moment, with Sky Bet giving odds of 7/4 that the Italian is the next in line to face the chop. The 65-year-old may have had a tough old time of it this year but his achievement last term stands as the single greatest in Premier League history warrants more time at the club.
That said, there are already murmurs of a sacking with months left of the season suggests that relegation would spell the end for Ranieri without question, with the Champions League failing to serve as a saving grace.
