With owner Thaksin Shinawatra facing corruption
charges, the club appears to be on the brink of ruin. A City source
said: “This is not the dream package sold to Mark.
“The club is falling apart and nobody knows how much
longer Shinawatra will hang around. “It feels as though we’re in
meltdown and all Mark is trying to do is hang on to everything for
the sake of the club. “But if it carries on — and players are sold
without his consent — he won’t stand any more. He’ll just
walk.”
Cash to spend: Thaksin Shinawatra and his family shopping in
Guildford yesterday.
The shocking extent of Thaksin Shinawatra’s financial
difficulties at Manchester
City can be revealed today as it emerged that only last
month he had to borrow £2million from former chairman John Wardle
to pay staff wages.
Sportsmail can reveal
that Wardle, who resigned in protest at Thaksin’s reign on July
9,was so concerned City staff were not going to be paid that he
agreed to loan the club’s owner £2m for the third time in less than
a year.
Although Wardle has been repaid and no staff wage payments were
missed, it is
clear City are operating on a hand-to-mouth basis each month. There
are fears
within the club the problem will soon recur, with Wardle no longer
around to bail
Thaksin out.
Barclays Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is
demanding urgent talks with Thaksin, who fled Thailand to avoid
facing corruption charges.
