“Danger to the pyramid” – Man United legend hits out at Boehly’s suggestions to improve the English game

Gary Neville calls for an end to US investment in English football following suggestions by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly

As per a tweet from Gary Neville (h/t Daily Mail), the Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit hits out at the suggestions made by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and terms the American investment in English football a danger to the sport’s pyramid.

Though the tweet from Neville did not directly aim at the Chelsea owner, it came hours after Boehly had suggested the idea of an All-Stars in the Premier League to raise the funds for the English football pyramid. The Chelsea co-owner also calls for English football to learn from American sports.

In his tweet, Neville pointed out how quickly an independent regulator is needed in the Britain game to protect it from American investment.

I keep saying it but the quicker we get the Regulator in the better. US investment into English football is a clear and present danger to the pyramid and fabric of the game. They just don’t get it and think differently. They also don’t stop till they get what they want! 🛑

— Gary Neville (@GNev2) September 14, 2022

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was unimpressed by Boehly’s suggestion for an All-Stars game. The German, who has always been an advocate for player welfare in a crowded schedule, asked the Chelsea owner to find a date to fit these games in before calling him.

Premier League do have quite a number of American owners. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and now Chelsea have owners from the other side of the Atlantic.

While Neville is right about certain aspects of how to protect the longevity of English football, it sounds very reactionary to call out general American investment to be stopped in this country. The league has seen a lot of foreign investment in the last few years, be it from the middle east or Europe.

So, to cancel out the investment from one country just because an owner has spoken about something that is practically not possible to apply as of now, may not be a sensible idea.

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For Boehly, he needs to accept that he is new to the English game. He needs to take his time to understand the landscape of how this game is followed in this country before making suggestions on how to improve it.