'I made £120m profit on Premier League giants and spent the next 15 years on the run'

Thaksin Shinawatra more than doubled his money after just over a year at Manchester City. His rollercoaster time at the club, coupled with his gripping life story, has made him an enduring figure.

The billionaire former telecoms tycoon, now 75, became the Prime Minister of Thailand in 2001, spending five years as the nation’s figurehead before being ousted by a military coup.

The government that replaced Shinawatra levelled a number of charges against him as he fled to take exile in London. Having flirted with investments in Liverpool and Fulham, Shinawatra eventually took control of City in 2007 for £81.6million, shortly after they escaped Premier League relegation by only four points.

Known affectionately as ‘Frank’, Shinawatra was an instant hit in east Manchester. He hired Sven-Goran Eriksson to replace Stuart Pearce as manager, and delivered on his promise of bringing in glitzy signings like Elano and Vedran Corluka.

City came racing out of the blocks in the 2007/08 season but fell away over the second half of the campaign. A final-day 8-1 thumping at Middlesbrough proved to be the end of Eriksson’s tenure, and with the Blues heading towards financial turmoil, Shinawatra decided to sell up.

Luckily for him, Sheikh Mansour was looking to invest his vast riches in the Premier League, and he took City off his hands for a reported £200m, meaning a handsome £120m profit for ‘Frank’.

Shinawatra was made an ‘Honorary Life President’ by City, though that title was later withdrawn as ongoing political turmoil forced him into 15 more years of self-imposed exile.

While the finer details of Shinawatra’s personal life are hazy during that period, it is understood that he spent years living in Dubai and still had access to a healthy slice of his personal fortune, despite assets being frozen elsewhere.

Amid a burning desire to return to his homeland and be with his family, Shinawatra landed back in Thailand last August, arriving on the exact date the Pheu Thai party was voted in. He received an eight-year sentence on graft and abuse of power charges, but that was swiftly cut to just one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Shinawatra was released after only six months, having spent time in a police hospital due to poor health. It is not clear whether he spent any time in a prison cell. Now free in Thailand, the man once known as ‘Frank’ remains one of the most divisive figures in his nation’s history, and a key part of Premier League folklore.