So the people of Thailand now are shareholders of Liverpool football club. Hmmmmmmmmm!!! I am sure the government could have spent the money on better projects.
Thai PM ‘seals’ Reds deal](BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Liverpool | Morgan reveals Anfield plan)
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has finalised a deal to invest in Liverpool, his government have said.
Thaksin, chasing a 30% stake, is likely to buy his shares from the 51% owned by Anfield chairman David Moores, meaning Liverpool may not profit directly.
**However, the cash will come from Thai public funds rather than Thaksin himself as was previously thought.
“We will buy in the name of Thailand,” said government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair after a cabinet announcement.
“The Thai government is the one that negotiated the deal, not Thaksin and most of the money will come from public funds,” Jakrapob added ahead of a formal announcement to be held at an undisclosed time in the future. **
This would appear to contradict a statement made over the weekend by Pongsak Ruktapongpisal, deputy minister of commerce, who said: “I want to assure you that the money comes from the prime minister himself not from public funds.”
Jakrapob added: “It’s almost 100 percent. Both sides are confident we will make the announcement. As far as we are concerned, we have finished the process.”
Thaksin, who was a telecoms tycoon before he moved into politics, is estimated to be worth $800m (£450m) and hopes to cash in on the Premiership club’s popularity in Asia.
He revealed that a company formed with other Thai private investors to pump money into the club would receive commercial rights to use the Liverpool brand and that a football academy would be set up in Thailand.
His spokesman, Chakrapot Penkai, believes the deal will be mutually beneficial.
“Thailand thinks that the Liverpool team can enhance the standard of the sport’s development in Thailand a great deal,” he told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme.
"Why does the prime minister want to invest in Liverpool? Because it is the era of the brand name and with a good quality brand name you can do many things.
“Liverpool’s name is a world-class name - people attach their fantasies, their liking for sports, their enhancement in life, their self-development, along with this kind of team.”
Reds chairman David Moores and Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry have been in Bangkok working on the deal.
And the Thai fan club’s president, Boonchai Mongkolratankorn, said all Liverpool supporters would be happy that marketing merchandise in Asia would help buy new players.
“The prime minister shouldn’t have anything to do with management of the club but I think he wants a say in buying and selling players,” Boonchai said.
“I’m not sure if the prime minister is really a Liverpool fan,” he added. “He says he is but when Manchester United were here, he said he supported them.”