Rafa Benitez could deny Lucas, Mascherano and Babel the opportunity to represent their countries in the Beijing Olympic Games after three other European clubs won their appeal to keep their players from taking part.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that Lionel Messi, Diego and Rafinha can be kept out of the Games by their respective clubs Barcelona, Werder Bremen and Schalke.
That could see other clubs follow suit including Liverpool while Man City will also be considering their situation with regards to the availability of their new Brazilian striker, Jo.