McManaman to Birmingham City?

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Steve McManaman has been lined up for a senior role at Birmingham City should Carson Yeung complete his takeover of the Barclays Premier League club. McManaman, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfield player, will become an adviser and could join the board if the Hong Kong-based businessman takes over.

Yeung tried to persuade McManaman to play for his club, Hong Kong Rangers, in December. McManaman turned down the opportunity down because of injury, but he was yesterday named as an executive director of Grandtop International Holdings (GIH), the company headed by Yeung, which agreed to buy 29.9 per cent of the shares in Birmingham last week. The company has lodged a nonrefundable deposit of £1.09 million for the stake, but GIH must take up the option by July 16.

McManaman, who does not hold shares in the company, has been asked to provide football expertise and would be seen to bring credibility to the bid. In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the company said: “There is no service contract entered into between the company and Mr McManaman. He has no fixed term of service with the company.

“He will be entitled to a directors’ fee to be determined by the remuneration committee of the company with reference to their duties and responsibility in the company and the market benchmark.”

McManaman, 35, retired from football in 2005 after an unsuccessful spell with Manchester City. He worked as a commentator for ESPN Star, in Asia, last year and has been employed as an analyst for Setanta’s coverage of the Premier League from next season. the former England winger was also placed sixth on the list of the world’s most wealthy footballers in 2000 and was an assistant producer on the film, Goal II.