London, July 6:

Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed Manchester City’s new manager on Friday after former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra announced he had gained effective control of the club.

“I am absolutely delighted and honoured to have been asked to be Manchester City’s manager,” said Eriksson. “This is an exciting challenge and I have already started making preparations for the new season. I want to deliver a team that our fantastic fans can be proud of.”

Thaksin announced on the Plus Markets stock exchange that the Manchester City board and the other shareholders had waived any opposition to his taking over the club through his company UK Sports Investments Limited. “UKSIL announces that all conditions relating to the offer have been satisfied or waived,” his company said on the stock exchange.

The news from the stock exchange means that Thaksin will become the eighth foreign owner of a Premier League club. Other foreign owners in the Premier league are Russia’s Roman Abramovich of Chelsea and Alexandre Gaydamak of Portsmouth; American businessmen Malcolm Glazer of Manchester United, George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks of Liverpool and Randy Lerner of Aston Villa; Iceland’s Eggert Magnusson of West Ham; and Egypt’s Mohamed al Fayed of Fulham.