Former chairman bailed out Man City three times

[shahul]

London - Manchester City were plunged deeper into confusion Wednesday when the Guardian newspaper reported former chairman John Wardle had made three separate loans of 2 million pounds (3.69 million dollars) to the club over the past year.

Two were made last season and one this summer and all have since been repaid.

New chairman Garry Cook has insisted the club is not in financial difficulties, but the revelations do reveal the problems owner Thaksin Shinawatra has had in financing the club.

Thaksin, the former Thai prime minister, paid 21.6m pounds to take over the club last summer, repaid 17.5m pounds of loans, and made significant initial investment in players.

But the funding for transfers that was expected to be available this summer has not materialised, as Thaksin, who has had assets frozen in Thailand, fights corruption charges.

Cook confirmed that Thaksin is not currently funding the club.

He also insisted that Wardle's latest loan was not, as some had claimed, made to cover the wage bill, but was rather to pay Blackburn Rovers compensation for manager Mark Hughes, who replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson at Eastlands this summer.