Liverpool director Ian Ayre open to '39th game'

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre believes the prospect of playing competitive Barclays Premier League matches overseas cannot be ruled out in the future.

Proposals for a so-called 39th game of the season were met with major opposition when they were first raised a couple of years ago.

But Ayre, recently promoted from his role as commercial director at Anfield, said it was an issue which was likely to crop up again in the future.

"It's fraught with lots of issues but somehow we have a duty to fans around the world to give them access to the product," he told Management Today magazine.

"So never say never. What was unfortunate about last time was that the idea was created as some kind of reality before it had been thought through.

"Whatever's going to happen in football, it needs to have been absolutely thought through and every element considered - what's right and proper for the fans, the club, the league, the confederation, the local markets where you'd play.

"It all needs to be properly considered and I don't think last time that was the case."