Audio By Carbonatix
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is unimpressed by new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly's idea of a US style 'All-Star game' in the Premier League.
Boehly, part-owner of baseball team the LA Dodgers, and basketball sides the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks, suggested a north v south game.
He said he hopes the Premier League "takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports".
Klopp said: "Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well?"
The German was asked about Boehly's idea after Tuesday's 2-1 win over Ajax in the Champions League.
Earlier in the day at a conference in New York, the American said: "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 $200m (£173m) 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 NBA's All-Star game takes place during the regular season, in February, and pits players from the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference. The starting line-ups for the exhibition match are selected via fan, player and media voting, with head coaches selecting the reserves for each 12-strong team.
Klopp, who has previously been critical of the crowded football schedule, responded: "When he finds a date for that he can call me. In American sports these players have four-month breaks.
"Maybe he can explain that. I'm not sure people want to see that - [Manchester] United players, Liverpool players, Everton players all together. North-east too, so Newcastle. It is not the national team. All the London guys together, Arsenal, Tottenham, great. Did he really say it?"
Asked what fellow club owners would think about an All-Star game Boehly said: "Everyone likes the idea of more revenue for the league.
"There's a real cultural aspect. I think evolution will come."
Boehly, who led a consortium to a £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea in May, also put forward the suggestion that relegation places for the top-flight could be decided by a four-team tournament, rather than the usual format of the three bottom sides going down automatically.
There is no relegation in the major sports in the US, with the worst performing teams getting first picks of new talent in a draft which leads to accusations of teams "tanking" for an improved pick.
"The economics of going into the Championship are materially different," he said.
"When you go into the Championship those numbers fall off a cliff. So there's no-one thinking about tanking, and those relegation games are some of the highest broadcast games."
On Thursday Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said he was not in favour of Boehly's ideas.
"I am not a fan of any play-offs for relegation or anything like that," said Hasenhuttl.
"The Premier League title or relegation is the most honest thing because you are working all year and, if you are not good enough, you are relegated or, if you are good enough, you become champion. It shouldn't ever change.
"We don't need to make football more colourful. It is for me the most interesting sport.
"We don't have the time, I'm with Jurgen. He was against new games because we see the challenges for the players.
"We all want to see them playing, but we want to see the best players fit and healthy."
Latest Stories
-
Mariam Eliasu launches Porter Path, turning street survival into hope and action
9 seconds -
Police arrest suspect over illegal mining at Kwabeng Anglican SHTS
8 minutes -
The Entrepreneurial Agenda: Building readiness to empower MSMEs beyond access to finance
21 minutes -
‘Prime Morning’ heads to Ada for festive Christmas with Camp Tsatse
25 minutes -
True love, understanding and forgiveness sustain my marriage – Celestine Donkor
34 minutes -
Today’s Front pages : Tuesday, December 19, 2025
35 minutes -
Why you should not miss Joy FM’s 2025 Family Party in the Park
1 hour -
NSA boss Ruth Dela Seddoh vows to end ghost names, save public funds
1 hour -
Government secures 40,000 acres in Yeji for Agro-Industrial Expansion
2 hours -
Election security team engages NPP ahead of January 2026 presidential primaries
2 hours -
Jail corrupt officials in galamsey fight – Haruna Iddrisu to Judiciary
2 hours -
Walewale MP dismisses forest mining ban as a superficial response to galamsey
2 hours -
Government targets 2026 restart for Komenda Sugar Factory
2 hours -
Chiefs must be central to galamsey fight – National House of Chiefs President
2 hours -
Over 1.3m youth outside jobs and school as GSS flags deepening employment gaps
2 hours
