After Chelsea‘s American owner Todd Boehly making his case for a north vs. south ‘All-Star’ game for the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp laughed off the suggestion.
Speaking at the SALT Conference in New York on Tuesday, as quoted by ESPN, Boehly, whose consortium sealed the takeover of Chelsea earlier this summer, raised his idea for an ‘All-Star’ game.
“Ultimately I hope that the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure out why wouldn’t we do a tournament with the bottom four teams, why isn’t there an all-star game?” he said.
“People are talking about more money for the pyramid – MLB did their All-Star Game in LA this year, we made $200 million from a Monday and a Tuesday.
“You could do a north versus south all-star game for the Premier League to fund whatever the pyramid needed very easily.”
While there is virtue in his scheme – if, of course, it was designed with the benefit of the wider English football pyramid in mind – the logistics are much more problematic.
The problems are vast and varied, though, for Klopp, the biggest is simply where the game would fit into the calendar.
#?????? has got a bit of everything. #ChelseaFC chairman Todd Boehly offers a fascinating glimpse into his global vision for the English Premier League club. pic.twitter.com/wa9aBHuGKe
— SALT ?? (@SALTConference) September 13, 2022
“He doesn’t hesitate, eh? He doesn’t wait long!” he said when informed of Boehly’s comments during his post-Ajax press conference.
“Great, when he finds a date for that he can call me.
“He forgets in the big sports in America these players have four-month breaks, so they are quite happy that they can do a little bit of sport in these breaks.
“It’s completely different in football.
“What can I say? Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well and make them play against a football team?
“I’m surprised by the question, so please don’t judge my answers too much. But maybe he can explain it to me at one point – and find a proper date.
“I’m not sure if people want to see that. Imagine that: United players, Liverpool players, Everton players all together in one team.
“It’s not the national team, it’s just north against south…interesting game!
“All the London guys together, Arsenal, Tottenham, great. Did he really say it? Interesting!”
That’s putting it lightly, Jurgen!
