Premier League

Man City to decide Eriksson's future June 15

12:30 BST, Wed 28 May 2008
[-] Text [+]
 Email  |   Print  |   Digg This
 
Former Thai Prime Minister and Manchester City football club owner Thaksin Shinawatra (R) and team manager Sven-Goran Eriksson attend the opening ceremony of an official store of the soccer club in Bangkok May 16, 2008. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

BANGKOK, May 28 (Reuters) - Premier League club Manchester City will decide on the future of their manager Sven-Goran Eriksson in just over two weeks, according to an advisor to owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pairoj Piempongsant, a prominent Thai businessman actively involved in recruiting players for City, said the club was still pursuing former world player of the year Ronaldinho and would make a decision on both he and Eriksson by June 15.

"The negotiations must be complete by June 15, which include the team manager," Pairoj told the Thai-language Thansettakij newspaper.

Thaksin, the ousted former Thai prime minister, is undertaking a "technical review" of the club, which could see former England manager Eriksson axed after less than a year in charge.

Reports of his imminent dismissal have upset players and prompted an angry response from City fans, who have questioned Thaksin's knowledge of soccer and motives for buying the club.

Thaksin gave no comment on Wednesday when asked by reporters about Eriksson's future.

Pairoj added that City were relentless in their pursuit of Ronaldinho and had urged him to choose them over Italian giants AC Milan and Inter.

He met Ronaldinho's brother and agent, Roberto de Assis Moreira, in Bangkok last week.

Pairoj said Ronaldinho had already won major honours and joining a smaller club would give him "a new challenge".

"I presented him with a vision why we strongly believe in his potential, that he is the best player of the world," he was quoted as saying.

"There are several clubs, all bigger than Man City, that are approaching him," he said. "There isn't anything left for him to win. It is like a teenager who gets bored with something quickly and always looks for new challenges."

Ronaldinho joined Barcelona in 2003 and helped them win back-to-back league titles in 2005 and 2006 and the Champions League in 2006.

He has been sidelined since mid-March with a leg injury and Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said the player needs to leave the club to revive his career.

Any person accessing the football section of this website is prohibited from any unauthorised re-production of any photographs and or text content other than for the purposes of viewing the same as part of the web site.   
30 Aug 00:00 Man Utd v Fulham -
27 Aug 20:05 Arsenal 4 - 0 FC Twente FT
27 Aug 20:05 Liverpool 1 - 0 Standard Liège FT
27 Aug 19:45 Olympiakos 1 - 0 Anorthosis FT
27 Aug 19:45 Marseille 2 - 1 Brann FT
27 Aug 19:45 Atlético Madrid 4 - 0 Schalke 04 FT
27 Aug 19:45 D. Zagreb 1 - 3 S. Donetsk FT
27 Aug 19:45 S. Prague 0 - 0 Fiorentina FT
Who will win the Premier League this season?
17%
Arsenal
35%
Chelsea
18%
Liverpool
31%
Manchester United

Most Popular articles

advertisement