18 July 2023 , 19:52
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Wayne Rooney says a Premier League All-Star game would never work, despite currently being the manager at one across the pond.
Last year, following his successful acquisition of Chelsea, American Todd Boehly floated the idea of a North vs South game in England - something that received plenty of criticism, not least of all from Jurgen Klopp. The idea has since gone quiet but less than a year later and one of the Premier League's greatest ever players is now a manager in one of these games.
On Wednesday night, Rooney leads the MLS All-Star team against Arsenal. As manager of DC United, Rooney is tasked with picking an XI and taking on the Gunners who are in the early stages of their preseason.
But trying to do the same thing in England is something Rooney doesn't think will ever be possible. "I don't think it will work," he said firmly. "Everything over here (United States) is different. Culture is different.
"It's a huge game here but I think in England the rivalry between teams, between the cultures, [they] will complain about the players playing too much and I just don't think it will work. Over here it's part of this league. It's great to be a part of. But in England it wouldn't work."
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The question was also put to the boss of Rooney's opponents, Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal manager said he wouldn't be too thrilled about losing a number of his key players but conceived it's something that could happen.
(AFP via Getty Images)"For me as an Arsenal coach to play against the MLS All-Stars - great! If you ask me the other way around, if it's in the middle of the season then probably the opposite if I had to let a lot of players go," said Arteta. "But I think it's great for the players to gather together, the most talented players in the team. If I was a player, for sure, I'd want to experience that and, why not, in the future in can be done."
In September, Boehly attempted to throw his weight about by trying to introduce the concept, something that is popular in North America. "Ultimately I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports,” said Boehly. “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 200m 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."
At the time, Boehly's suggestion was something that left Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp stunned.
"He doesn't wait long," Klopp responded. "When he finds a date for that he can call me. He forgets in American sports these players have four-month breaks so they are quite happy they can do a little bit of sport in these breaks. It's completely different in football.
"Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well?
"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 people want to see that. Imagine that, (Manchester) United, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle players all on one team that's not the national team, just a north team. Interesting game.
"All the London guys together. Arsenal, Tottenham. Great. Did he really say it? Interesting."