Paris Saint-Germain's top brass might well be just emerging from their Real Madrid-induced slough of despond by the time their counterparts from Bordeaux arrive at the Parc des Princes for the Ligue 1 match between players from the two sides on Sunday afternoon.
And should the Bordeaux suits be bearing the finest juices from the celebrated vineyards around their city, their munificence could well have a two-fold effect on the benighted souls zigzagging the corridors of power at PSG following the team's lamentable capitulation in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 game.
From 2-0 up on aggregate on Wednesday night, PSG shipped three goals in 17 minutes to slump out of the competition their owners so desperately want to win.
Karim Benzema was the author of the treble that helped his side into the quarter-finals and him past Alfredo di Stefano into third on the all-time Madrid scoring charts.
Delight and delirium for Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti and his cohorts at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"In the last 30 minutes there was only one team on the pitch," said Ancelotti.
"We suffered a lot in the first-half and struggled to recover the ball but then pressure from Benzema on the goalkeeper helped us to score the first goal.
"After that, the magic of this stadium and our fans made the difference. It's simple as that. It gave us energy and brought PSG down."
Ideas
Food for thought, perhaps, for the PSG executives from a self-avowed gourmand to go with a couple of glasses of Bordeaux that might yield some blue skies thinking about the future of the PSG project.
A few too many following the suggestion du jour may well lead to the continued belief that it would have all been an utterly different story had the experienced referee Danny Makkelie whistled for a foul on the PSG goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma just before Benzema's first strike.
PSG's sporting director, Leonardo, and the club president, Nasser al- Khelaifi, are alleged to have furiously confronted the match officials in the changing rooms at the Bernabeu following the 3-2 aggregate defeat.
Uefa, which runs the Champions League, has launched an inquiry into the pair's behaviour after Makkelie submitted his match report citing their demeanour in the aftermath of the setback.
Any sanctions could affect al-Khelaifi's position as head of the European Club Association and his place on Uefa's executive board.
Change
Such denouements could well be the tipping point for one of PSG's star strikers Kylian Mbappé. Madrid covet the 23-year-old France international whose two goals had put PSG in the driving seat in the tie.
Madrid made a bid for Mbappé at the start of the 2021/22 season. In what was widely interpreted as a show of financial muscle, PSG refused the 160 million euro offer.
At the end of his contract in May, Mbappé is free to leave and pursue his quest to befuddle and humiliate defenders.
Chelsea is unlikely to be a destination for his pyrotechnics. Madrid is understood to be his preferred port.
PSG are trying to stop this voyage with offers involving squillions of euros. And why not?
Ever since the Qatar-based QSI group took over the outfit, billions have been spent transforming PSG into an uberclub.
Success
Stars such as Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva have been drafted into the French capital to help the dazzling revamp.
A pile of domestic titles has been accumulated under Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel. But only the latter took them to within touching distance of the Champions League.
In December 2020, four months after the 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the final, Tuchel was dispatched and replaced by Mauricio Pochettino who led the side to the semi-final.
There, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City outclassed a team containing Neymar, Mbappé and Angel Di Maria only to lose to Tuchel's Chelsea in the 2021 final.
Irony digested, PSG moved some more mountains of money to recruit the likes of Lionel Messi, Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos during a summer splurge to send the talent pool of the squad into another stratosphere and factor out the vagaries that lurk in the fabric of the Champions League.
To no avail.
Grasp
Another referee might have blown the whistle for a foul on Donnarumma - to the eternal despair of the Madrid fans. Voilà, the quirks and quiddities of European football's most prestigious tournament.
And the putative big brains at PSG seem unwilling to grasp the reality during a continued denigration of Ligue 1.
In 2018 - the days when three domestic baubles were available - a PSG clean sweep was still portrayed as inadequate because of failure in the Champions League.
So, a few years on from that treble, what now? PSG boast a 13 point lead over Nice at the top of Ligue 1 with 11 games remaining of the season. Bordeaux, who prop up Ligue 1, should provide an easy three points and bring the crown a tad closer.
Only the grandmother of all meltdowns could thwart an eighth top flight championship in 10 years.
But will the fans be happy with just the 2022 title? Will they now no longer trill to the jinks and tricks of Messi because they're not coming in a Champions League tie?
Two days after the defeat, reports flooded the French media about how keeping Mbappé was the prime objective for PSG's bigwigs.
Yet the facts make grim reading for those hoping to inject vast sums into Mbappé's bank accounts.
In the six years since making his debut with Monaco, Mbappé has won four Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de France trophies, the Coupe de la Ligue and a couple of French Super Cups. He has earned towers of cash.
And he grew up yearning to play for Real Madrid.
He was PSG's main weapon against them over the two last-16 legs and the Madrid fans loved it.
For them it was proof that he should stride fields Spanish and foreign in the legendary all white strip and add his name to their list of immortals.
QSI cash has, without question, procured an array of delights for PSG's international fanbase.
As the Bordeaux and the Chablis flow in the Parc des Princes hospitality suites on Sunday afternoon, the well-heeled fans will undoubtedly ponder war and peace in Ukraine.
They will also muse on whether the money swirling around the club can infiltrate the ethereal and buy off boyhood dreams.
