And as part of his stunning offer, Thaksin promised to make £50 million of that money immediately available for new players, the paper said without naming sources.

The proposal came at the end of a week when it appeared former City full-back Ray Ranson had the upper hand in the fight for the club.

But while he could offer only £20 million for players, Thaksin has more than doubled that.

He wants to take control of the club for £58 million, which will include buying shares and paying off chairman John Wardle and his business partner David Makin.

The pair are owed £20 million in personal loans to City, but Thaksin, 57, has a personal fortune of around £2 billion.

He worked as a policeman before taking advantage of a number of business opportunities.

His most lucrative was Advanced Info Services, Thailand's largest mobile-phone operator.

Thaksin, elected in 2001, became the first Thai PM to lead an elected government through a full four-year term.

He won a landslide re-election in 2005 but was overthrown in a bloodless military coup last September and now intends to set up home permanently in the UK.

He tried to buy Liverpool but failed and is now intent on getting City and making them a Premiership force.

City are already sceptical about Ranson's offer, but Ranson remains good friends with prominent board member and ex-City team-mate Dennis Tueart.

There is little doubt Thaksin has the cash, and Wardle has always maintained he would only sell for the good of the club.

By that he primarily meant that a major investment could be made on the playing side.