The Conversation (0)
Harry Fletcher
Sep 14, 2022
Jurgen Klopp Dismisses Todd Boehly's Proposal Of An All-Star Game
IndyTV
Todd Boehly is trying to claim that the Premier League could learn a lot from American sports, and is putting forward the case for an all-star game in the style of the NBA.
As you might expect, British football fans aren’t too impressed with the Chelsea chairman’s suggestion.
Boehly also part-owns the baseball team the LA Dodgers and the baseball teams the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks.
The 48-year-old has made a big impression since he bought Chelsea in the summer, having sacked manager Thomas Tuchel just weeks into the season. Now, he wants the league to follow a more US-inspired model.
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The chairman suggested a north v south game, and was swiftly rebuked by figures in the game and fans alike.
\u201cChelsea owner Todd Boehly floats the idea of a PREMIER LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME. \n\n\ud83c\udfa5 @SALTConference\u201d— Men in Blazers (@Men in Blazers) 1663100298
“Ultimately I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports,” said Boehly in a New York conference. “And really starts to figure out, why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four sports teams, why isn’t there an All-Star game?
“People are talking about more money for the pyramid, in the MLB All-Star game this year we made 200 million dollars from a Monday and a Tuesday.
“So we’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League, for whatever the pyramid needed quite easily.”
The idea doesn't seem to have gone down particularly well.
Jurgen Klopp was later asked about the suggestions in a press conference, and he replied by joking: "Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well?"
Gary Lineker also weighed in by writing on Twitter: “Hey Todd, we already have All-Star games. They’re called internationals.”
Plenty of social media users had their say too.
\u201cHey Todd, we already have All-Star games. They\u2019re called internationals. \ud83d\udd90\ud83c\udffb\u201d— Gary Lineker \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b (@Gary Lineker \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b) 1663146484
\u201cYou can laugh. But Todd boehly\u2019s all star game will have replaced the community shield in, what, three years. And we\u2019ll all be arguing about the teams on here and generating that sweet sweet content\u201d— Barney Ronay (@Barney Ronay) 1663143325
\u201cWhat's Todd Boehly's next big idea for English football going to be? No ties? Penalty shoot-balls at the end of every game? Singing 'take me out to the ballgame' after 70 minutes'. It's not a particularly impressive start to his time at Chelsea\u201d— Oliver Holt (@Oliver Holt) 1663113019
\u201carteta and potter bouncing ideas off each other at the coaches all star game meeting\u201d— - (@-) 1663110700
\u201cJurgen Klopp on Chelsea owner Todd Boehly's idea for a north v south "All Star" game: "He hasn't waited long! Oh great, maybe he can find a date for it. It's completely different in America. Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well?"\u201d— Andy Hunter (@Andy Hunter) 1663106068
\u201cWe will wake up one day to see news that Todd Boehly wants to buy Camp Nou for Mason Mount and Kai Havertz to train\u201d— KALYJAY (@KALYJAY) 1663147721
\u201c\ud83d\udde3 "He forgets in the big sports in America, they have four month breaks. Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well?"\n\nJurgen Klopp's response to Todd Boehly's idea of a north vs south "All Star" game\u201d— Football Daily (@Football Daily) 1663108527