Leicester City visit Thailand king

Claudio Ranieri lifts Premier League trophy

Premier League champions, Leicester City, paid a courtesy visit to Bangkok’s Grand Palace on Thursday.

The club, owned by a Thai billionaire, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, are on an end-of-season tour to celebrate their Premier League title triumph.

The team posed for a photo in the royal palace in which they all stood on their knees, a sign of respect for the much-revered Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest serving monarch.

Thailand have never qualified for a World Cup tournament, but are one of the remaining 12 Asian teams competing for four spots at the next tournament in Russia 2018.

Srivaddhanaprabha, who bought the club in 2010, is quite optimistic the country will take inspiration from the Foxes and qualify for the next World cup.

“We want to help Thailand go to the World Cup,” he said.

“Thailand can be at the top, just like Leicester City.”

The team signed a well-wishing book for Adulyadej before a victory parade in central Bangkok.