Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's bid to take
over Manchester City is on the verge of collapse, BBC Sport
understands. His Thai bank accounts have been frozen by
anti-corruption investigators and his overseas assets are under
threat. "He's in London having talks with his advisors who until
now were satisfied that he had the funds," said BBC Five Live's
Jonathan Legard. "Clearly there exists serious doubts that he has
the means to proceed."
Earlier in the day, Thaksin's lawyer Noppadon Pattama admitted the
seizure of family bank accounts "could delay any investment" but
claimed it would not affect plans to go through with the purchase.
But the BBC understands the City board had already braced
themselves for bad news following the delays to the bid and may
soon run out of patience.
Thaksin, 57, who was previously linked with a takeover of
Liverpool, has spent much of his time in London since being ousted
from power in a bloodless military coup last year. He submitted a
bid to buy Premiership side City last month and was then granted
access to the club's accounts. But the lack of any progress on the
proposed deal has already led to the club missing out on former
Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri to fill their managerial
vacancy.
He was tipped to take over from Stuart Pearce, who was sacked at
the end of the 2006/7 campaign, but opted to join Serie A side
Juventus instead. Former City player Ray Ranson also expressed
interest in buying the club but withdrew his offer at the end of
May.