Man City: What happened to the Thai players they signed after 2007 takeover?

Manchester City are arguably the best side in world football right now.

While they’re yet to get their hands on the Champions League trophy, the Citizens have dominated English football of late.

City have won four of the last five Premier League titles available and completed a domestic treble in 2019/20.

Of course, much of the the team’s success is down to their oil-rich owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.

He’s invested millions in the club and has helped turn them into a European superpower, one capable of attracting the best players on the planet – the most recent being Erling Haaland.

Sheikh Mansour has certainly done a far better job than his predecessor, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Back in 2007, the former prime minister of Thailand targeted “world domination” with City when he decided to buy the club for a handsome sum of £81.6 million.

As well as bringing in Sven-Goran Eriksson to manage the team and splashing £40 million in the transfer market, Shinawatra turned to his homeland in a bid to secure his goals.

Three Thai footballers, Teerasil Dangda, Suree Sukha and Kiatprawut Saiwaeo, were all signed in 2007.

However, due to Thailand’s low FIFA ranking, the trio didn’t actually qualify for a work permit and were therefore restricted to just one appearance in City colours, which came against a Thai League All-Stars XI in May 2008.

They lost the game 3-1…

Eriksson later said about his former boss: “He [Thaksin] didn’t understand football – he hadn’t a clue.”

So, what has since happened to the three aforementioned players after they were all released by City in October of 2008? Well, let’s find out.

After a brief loan spell at Grasshoppers, Dangda returned to Thailand and became something of a legend at Muangthong