Thaksin Shinawatra

Bangkok: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra remained adamant Wednesday that English giants Liverpool had agreed in principle to sell a 30-percent stake to Thailand despite the club’s silence on the matter.

“In general, the broad principles have been agreed upon, only the differences over the MoU (memorandum of understanding), such as the number and role of Thai executives on the board of directors, need further discussion,” he told reporters.

“These are just differences on minor points,” he added. “If these differences can be worked out then everything is finished.”

Thai newspapers reported that Thaksin has demanded two board seats rather than the one the club was willing to give, and commercial marketing and sales rights in Asia.

Thaksin admitted that Thailand may have to wait longer for Liverpool’s decision before it can go ahead with a planned lottery float to raise funds for the purchase, which he has put at 4.3 billion baht ($ 105 million).

“We have to wait for a clear answer from Liverpool whether they will sell us the shares or not. Otherwise it will be confused, because the public needs to know which team they will be buying,” he said.

Thaksin, a self-made billionaire before entering politics, had been expected to fund the deal himself along with investors but the government has now said it will handle the financing, although it claims no taxpayer money will be used.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved a scheme to fund the purchase through a special 10-billion-baht ($ 245 million) lottery with a first-prize jackpot of 1.0 billion baht.

Thaksin has also said he was pursuing other options in case the Liverpool deal fell through and he was confident that by next month Thailand would have bought into the Premier League.

The Thai leader rejected the strong public sentiment in England against his attempt to purchase the Merseyside club and the opposition to the deal expressed by Thai politicians.

“It’s normal, since the buyer is foreign there was not 100 percent public agreement, but this will not affect either side’s decision,” he said.

Deputy commerce minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal, the deal’s chief Thai negotiator, said the purchase was close to conclusion.

“All I can say is that 80 percent (of the deal) has been agreed, with only four to five minor points still needed to be worked out,” Pongsak told reporters, declining to disclose the sticking points.

He also rejected criticism that Thai officials were mounting a public relations barrage about the Liverpool deal which could have irked the club’s board, which has largely kept quiet.

“As I am a public figure I have to be straight about everything I am involved in,” he said.

Consultations were planned with the central Bank of Thailand over the possible transaction of large amounts of foreign currency should the bid be secured, he said.