Rules out by the Premier League but gaining interest in La Liga and Serie A, the 39th game is once again to become a topic of discussion as the off-season nears closer and closer. This time, club officials at Malaga and AC Milan are toting the idea of their domestic seasons, hoping the respective leagues they play in will follow suit.
Concept
The idea is that the 39th game is actually one that takes place overseas at the beginning of the season. The game would count towards the official standings in every way and would allow fans of clubs from overseas to get the chance to see their club live. There has been stern opposition though, with claims such as that the bigger clubs would only benefit from the revenue, smaller and newly promoted clubs will have trouble drawing crowds, and that it unbalances the double round-robin system currently in place.
Whether we see it from leagues in Europe or the effects of such an idea is yet to be seen. The talk of the 39th game seems to be building more and more steam as the years go by.