Jamie Carragher believes the European Super League is "merely in hibernation" after Chelsea chair Todd Boehly proposed some drastic changes to English football's structure.
US businessman Boehly's consortium completed a takeover of the Blues in May and he's since made his presence known by spending more than £250million in the summer transfer market and sacking Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel.
Boehly hit the headlines again in midweek by suggesting the Premier League could learn a "lesson" from US sports by introducing an all-star game and a relegation tournament. If implemented, these ideas would radically change the face of English football.
Boehly said: "Ultimately, I hope that the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure out, 'Why wouldn’t we do a tournament with the bottom four teams? Why isn't there an all-star game?'
"People are talking about more money for the pyramid. With the all-star game in LA this year, we made $200m from a Monday and a Tuesday. You could have a North versus South all-star game for the Premier League and fund whatever the pyramid needed very easily."
Liverpool legend Carragher thinks Boehly's comments are a sign the idea of a European Super League could be revived in the coming years. The controversial competition famously collapsed within days of it's launch in April 2021 due to a huge backlash.
What do you make of Todd Boehly's ideas? Let us know in the comments below!
The European Super League proposed that 12 of the continent's biggest clubs - including six from England - play in a 20-club competition they could not be relegated from, scrapping the promotion system European football has depended on for 130 years.
The idea was condemned by fans, journalists, broadcasters, players and managers. In other words, it was rejected by almost everyone associated with English football. The Premier League owners associated with the project also saw their popularity plummet.
Carragher's comparison between the European Super League and Boehly's comments should come as a warning to the Chelsea chair. There's a chance his time as a Premier League chief could be short-lived if he continues to suggest progressive ideas.
"What disturbed me most about Boehly’s comments in midweek is that they proved such cynicism to be correct," Carragher wrote in The Telegraph. "The sentiments which led to the Super League fiasco are not dead, merely in hibernation, with businessmen like Boehly waiting to seize the next opportunity to mould our game into an ill-fitting vision, his comments suggesting English football is not generating as much cash as it should be.
"That is why my Sky Sports colleague, Gary Neville, is so adamant an independent regulator is needed, ensuring what begins as an 'opinion' does not turn into a plan formulated by the most powerful clubs."
Carragher added: "What really annoyed me was the superior tone in which they were delivered. What must worry Chelsea fans is that Boehly is prepared to speak now, think later. Either he has not sought advice about how such comments would be received, or even worse, he has not listened to it."
