Purchase of Manchester City Football Club
As prime minister, Thaksin had unsuccessfully sought to buy the English Premier League football clubs Fulham and later Liverpool, in what critics claimed was a publicity stunt in response to his political problems.
On 21 June 2007, now out of office, he bought Premier League club Manchester City for £81.6 million. He became briefly popular with fans, especially after appointing Sven-Göran Eriksson manager of the club and bringing in prominent players. Eriksson was later critical of Thaksin's running of the club, saying "he didn't understand football – he hadn't a clue." He sold the club to investors from Abu Dhabi United Group in September 2008 for a reported £200 million.
After selling Manchester City football club, Thaksin was nominated as "honorary president" but does not have any administrative responsibilities. However, he was later dismissed from honorary club president after the club has decided to take a position against him following his conviction and his currently "on the run" from Thai Authorities.
Read more about this topic: Thaksin Shinawatra
Famous quotes containing the words purchase of, purchase, manchester, city, football and/or club:
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of the Spirit, washed in Christ’s blood.”
—Fanny J. Crosby (1820–1915)
“Riches are valuable at all times, and to all men; because they always purchase pleasures, such as men are accustomed to, and desire: Nor can any thing restrain or regulate the love of money, but a sense of honour and virtue; which, if it be not nearly equal at all times, will naturally abound most in ages of knowledge and refinement.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“The [nineteenth-century] young men who were Puritans in politics were anti-Puritans in literature. They were willing to die for the independence of Poland or the Manchester Fenians; and they relaxed their tension by voluptuous reading in Swinburne.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“Notice how he has numbered the blue veins
in my breast. Moreover there are ten freckles.
Now he goes left. Now he goes right.
He is building a city, a city of flesh.
He’s an industrialist.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1993)
“I spoke at a woman’s club in Philadelphia yesterday and a young lady said to me afterwards, “Well, that sounds very nice, but don’t you think it is better to be the power behind the throne?” I answered that I had not had much experience with thrones, but a woman who has been on a throne, and who is now behind it, seems to prefer to be on the throne.”
—Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919)