What happened to the three Thai players Manchester City signed in 2007? | OneFootball

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After buying Manchester City in 2007, former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra targeted 'world domination' with the team. Sven-Goran Eriksson was hired as manager and around £40m was spent on new players, with the new arrivals including Martin Petrov, Geovanni, Elano and Rolando Bianchi.

Shinawatra's dreams of world domination sadly didn't materialise as City finished the 2007/08 season ninth in the Premier League table. Following the conclusion of that campaign, the club was sold to Sheikh Mansour, bringing an end to a chaotic year in City's history.

Shinawatra simply didn't have the knowledge of the sport required to take City to the next level and he made a host of questionable calls during his short time in charge of the English club. One of those was the decision to sign three players from his homeland in 2007. The three footballers in question were Teerasil Dangda, Suree Sukha and Kiatprawut Saiwaeo, who were recommended to the English side by Worawi Makudi, the president of the Thailand Football Association.

Makudi was confident that the trio would thrive in English football. He told Thai newspaper The Nation, per the BBC: "I believe our football standard and player ability is as good as other countries. The only difference is that our players have not had the opportunity as many others. I think the three would fare well in the trial. They are still young and have a strong desire to play in the Premier League."

However, not a single one of them made a competitive appearance for City's first team. Due to Thailand's lowly FIFA ranking, none of the trio even qualified for a work permit and they were restricted to just one appearance in a City shirt. That came in a friendly match against a Thai League All-Stars XI in May 2008 a, a game they lost 3-1. So what happened next after their one and only game in City's colours? Well, let's find out...

Teerasil Dangda

Dangda was just 19 years old when he made the move to Man City and, although it never worked out for him in England, he has actually enjoyed a pretty successful career. While he waited for a work permit, Dangda was shipped out on loan to Grasshoppers. He failed to make a single appearance for their first-team, though, only appearing a handful of times for the reserves in the Swiss fourth tier.

After being released by City, Dangda returned to his homeland with Raj Pracha. After notching six goals in 10 matches he was on the move again in 2009, signing for Muangthong United. He won a plethora of trophies with the Kirins, including four Thai Premier League titles.

His goalscoring exploits in his homeland attracted the attention of La Liga outfit UD Almería, who signed him on loan at the start of the 2014/15 campaign. However, his voyage back to Europe would once again not prove fruitful as he scored just once in 10 appearances for the Spanish side before returning to Muangthong.

After 159 goals in 351 games, Dangda's spell at Muangthong came to in end in 2020 when he joined J1 League side, Shimizu S-Pulse. After one season in Japan, Dangda made the move back to Thailand as he joined BG Pathum United. Now 35 years old, he is still at the club today and scoring goals on a regular basis.

As well as having success at club level, Dangda has thrived on the international stage too, scoring 63 goals in 124 games for the Thai national team. He is just eight goals away from becoming their record goalscorer.

Suree Sukha

Sukha was in his mid-20s and an established player in Thailand when he made the move to City in 2007. He was convinced he could be a success in England, saying, per Reuters: "I believe in myself, I believe I can make it, this doesn’t have anything to do with politics. It’s great that Thai players have this chance. I want to do a good job at City. Thaksin is the owner, and he says he wants to improve Thai football - there’s nothing wrong with that.”

The Thai defender did not have the success he thought he would, though. He joined Dangda in signing for Grasshoppers on loan and like his fellow countryman, he failed to play a single minute for the Swiss side's first-team.

Sukha returned to Thailand in 2009, where he played for Chonburi, Buriram United, Ubon UMT United, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol and Muangkan United. It was with Buriram where he had his most success as he helped the club to 14 trophies, including three Thai Premier League titles, two Thai FA Cups and two Thai League Cups.

Following a brief loan spell at Kanchanaburi in 2020, Sukha announced his retirement. As well as his honours at club level, he bowed out of the sport with 68 appearances and two goals for the Thai national team to his name.

Kiatprawut Saiwaeo

Saiwaeo was the least successful of the trio but he still had a decent career in football. While Dangda and Sukha were shipped out on loan to Grasshoppers, City had different ideas for Saiwaeo and he signed joined Club Brugge on a temporary deal. Like his compatriots, though, his loan spell did not work out as he failed to feature for the Belgian side.

He promptly returned to Thailand after being released by City in 2008, spending time at Chonburi, Chiangrai United and Police Tero. Sadly, Saiwaeo was forced to retire from the sport in 2018 at the age of just 32 because of consistent problems with his knee. Prior to his premature retirement, Saiwaeo made 36 appearances for the Thai national team, playing in five World Cup qualifier games.