Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga is open to playing the All-Star game suggested by Todd Boehly
According to the Express, Chelsea goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga is open to playing the All-Star game between North and South, as suggested by the Blues’ owner Todd Boehly.
There was a severe backlash to Boehly’s idea of playing a North versus South All-Stars game and donating the money generated to the football pyramid in England. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp asked the American to find a date for this game first before contacting him.
However, Kepa is open to this idea provided he plays the game. The Spaniard, who has recently gone back to being Chelsea’s number one following the injury to Edouard Mendy says we have to know more about this suggestion.
Here’s what the goalkeeper said (h/t Express):
It would be a big game. There are a lot of big players in this league, North v South, we will see. It is a different idea but I don’t know at what point we can play this game, so we see.
I heard something but I didn’t watch too much about it. I think Todd said something? It is a completely different idea. I think we have to know a little bit more about it.
While the idea is interesting and it does cater to the financial aid of the football pyramid, Boehly needs to understand the landscape of how club football is followed in England before suggesting these things.
Kepa may enjoy playing it because the occasion would be big with all the star names from north and south playing against each other. But would the fans like to watch Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal players play for a single team that is not an international game? Doubt so.
Moreover, even if it is played in a neutral country outside of England to move away from the fan backlash, can it generate the income Boehly is expecting to aid the whole football pyramid in the country? Very little chance.
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Lastly, the football calendar is unrelenting nowadays. There are hardly any free days where games like this can take place. Elite players are already exhausted and complain about the lack of holidays. Guess they would want more of that than another money-generating match in which they are used as a machine.
