Leicester City had just created football history the last time Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha held court with the English media.
He was vice-chairman in 2016 to his father, chairman Khun Vichai, and on display close to where he sat in the boardroom at King Power Stadium proudly stood the Premier League trophy Leicester had just won, shocking the football world in the process.
Back then, the club were riding the crest of a wave that carried them into the Champions League and later, under Brendan Rodgers, to a first FA Cup final success and three top-eight finishes in the Premier League.
A decade later, Khun Top, as Srivaddhanaprabha is known, sat with reporters again. This time with Leicester back where they were when he and his father — who tragically died, along with four other people, in a helicopter crash outside the club’s home stadium in 2018 — first bought them in 2010.
Leicester have gone full circle. It could be argued they are now in an even worse position than back then: 14th in the second-tier Championship, nine points above the relegation places but with a possible points deduction looming for breaching profit and sustainability rules (PSR). The verdict of an independent commission, expected soon, will determine if they are thrown into the mix for a drop into League One.
The day before, Leicester lost 2-1 at home to Oxford United to leave a fanbase, who have grown disenchanted with the club’s hierarchy and have called for change, venting their fury. A few hours after meeting the media, Khun Top would sack manager Marti Cifuentes. The search for Leicester’s seventh manager since the start of 2023 is underway.
While the potential PSR sanctions were off limits pending potential legal challenges, in an open and far-ranging interview, Khun Top spoke about:
- Where things have gone so wrong
- How he is hoping to reconnect with a disgruntled fanbase
- The possibility of relegation to the third division
- Restructuring the hierarchy
- Whether he would consider a sale.
But there was only one place to start…
Leicester City fans protest against the club’s owners in December (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Why has it gone so wrong so quickly?
It is less than five years since Khun Top stood on the Wembley turf, clutching the FA Cup and proudly raising it to the sky in tribute to his late father.
Within two seasons, Leicester had been relegated, despite boasting the seventh-highest budget in the Premier League. Their demise has been just as shocking and spectacular as their rise.
“If we talk about the first day that I came in, the vision for my father and I was so clear — we wanted long-term success for the club,” Khun Top said.
“We did three years in the Championship and then were promoted to the top league. In 15 years, almost 16, we have won five trophies, we’ve had two relegations, three times in Europe. I don’t know if this is a comfort to the fans, or a pain to the fans. It’s like a movie. It’s like a super drama on Netflix or something.
“The last five years, I’m not blaming Covid itself only, but that made many things change. We had created a culture with the fans and the players. In two years without connecting, it’s not easy to come back and be the same.
“We tried to create a family feeling, with the players, staff, management. But after Covid, it was gone.
“A lot of players left, a lot of new players came in, we tried to create new things. We won the FA Cup, we were in Europe, and then we went down. Too many dramatic things happened at the club.”
Harvey Barnes, right, contemplates Leicester’s relegation to the Championship in 2023 (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
After Covid-19, Leicester found themselves struggling to deal with financial restrictions and to comply with PSR. Their spending had spiralled under Rodgers, while revenues were hit by the pandemic. That has hampered their recruitment policy for successive managers.
Khun Top admitted they chased the dream of competing for European qualification and that it backfired.
“When we were in Europe, at that time, the pressure among the fans and the ambition of the club was there,” he said. “If we didn’t do anything at that time, I would have pressure from elsewhere.
“The Leicester story is that we tried to create the underdog story. We tried everything, and we did a lot of things to make sure that the Premier League, even football in the UK, looked very interesting.
“It’s not easy for Leicester anymore because the size of the club does not match what we tried to achieve. We believe in the rules, so we try to comply, but when we try hard to comply and nobody understands outside what we’re trying, then it’s not easy. The complaints, the comments, the negativity start from that.”
Leicester fans struggle to comprehend the club’s relegation at the end of the 2022-23 campaign (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Khun Top also admitted there was complacency within the club during the 2022-23 season when they slipped towards relegation.
“If you ask me about that time, I still do not understand why we went down,” he added.
“I talked to a lot of players at that time. I think the main problem was we had no experience of a relegation fight. We were so relaxed that we were going to be OK. What I heard is, ‘Boss, don’t worry. We’ll be OK’. We were not OK.”
What does he make of the supporter unrest?
If Leicester’s rise was meteoric, their decline in recent years has been just as spectacular, leaving fans angry, frustrated and demanding action and accountability. There have been protests inside and outside the stadium over the past few seasons and calls for change in the senior management of the club.
“I feel the pain of the supporters,” said Khun Top. “I feel the pain and frustration of the whole club. I used to be a football fan, and when my team lost, I felt so bad. As an owner for 16 years, it still feels the same. As an owner, it is painful, probably even more so.
“I feel sad, but when they talk about the (club’s) performance, the way that we manage, I want to tell them that I think — as the chairman and now interim CEO — the club has been successful, and then it is disappointing because we were planning to stay in the Premier League for a long time. We weren’t expecting to come down at that time.
“I’m sure if you look at that year, with the squad we had, we should not be in this position now. It affected a lot: the squad, the finances, the feeling and expectations of the whole club.
“But it is what it is, and we have to regroup and fight again.”
A plane flies over Leicester’s King Power Stadium, pulling a banner reading: “King Power Clueless Sack the Board” in April 2025 (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
If Leicester do receive a points deduction, a club currently without a manager could face a relegation battle to stay in the Championship and avoid a return to the third tier, a level they last played at in 2008-09. Khun Top called on the supporters to help their team avoid that fate.
“With this squad, it should not be like you mentioned — to be relegated again,” he said. “The players need support from the fans, big time, because nobody wants to see us play in League One. I’m sure that we still have a chance to get back (up) this table, to the play-offs at least. The aim is still there.
“The players know that when you stand there on the pitch, the pressure from the stands is huge and they feel it. If the fans are really negative, it’s not easy. But I know that’s not from the performances alone. The club needs to help the fans to get back to that position again.
“If the performances from some games, if we play that way, I’m confident we can be OK. But it’s not a guarantee. I know football. I used to say, ‘Don’t worry’. Now, I think we have to push the team with support.”
Khun Top watches Leicester City from the stands at the King Power Stadium (Leicester City FC)
How are Leicester restructuring the hierarchy?
Some of the fans’ demands for changes at the top have been heard, and Khun Top is in the process of restructuring the senior leadership at the club.
Chief executive Susan Whelan has left. Jon Rudkin, the director of football who has been the main focus of fan fury, will now be assisted by a technical director, while a new chief executive and commercial manager are being recruited.
Khun Top said the plan is to rediscover the club’s identity, which has been lost in recent years.
“I think she (Whelan) did very well for the family, for myself, and everything, but when the time is right, I think we need to change something,” he said. “There are three positions that we are looking to set in the structure. I hope soon, very soon, we’ll have them here.
A Leicester fan protests against the club’s director of football, Jon Rudkin, in February 2025 (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
“Jon is (seen as) like a bad cop. When we won the Premier League, it’s because of Jon too, but nobody talks about that anymore.
“The world has changed. A lot of things inside the training ground are huge. I think he needs support, and that is why I’ve come to my decision to change the structure to make sure that everything is right going forward. It makes sense to separate the management from the operation and to find the money from hospitality, sponsorship, and all the opportunities from the world outside, but football is very delicate.
“You have to see how the players train, how players feel, and it is not easy to find one guy to do it. That area needs to be improved a lot, and I will talk to Jon and make sure he understands that, when he brings someone in, everyone is aligned and (pulling) in the same direction.
“Is it the right way? I don’t know. I hope so. But the way we have managed for the last 12, 13, 14 years, since we got into the Premier League (the first time), we are close as a group and we need to get back to being that level. That’s when the unity and the communication are aligned.”
Jon Rudkin sits next to Khun Top at Leicester’s Premier League game against Liverpool in April 2025 (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Would he sell the club?
There has been speculation that Khun Top is no longer committed to the club and would even prefer to sell it.
His attendance at the Oxford game was his first home match since Stoke City’s visit on November 22, but Khun Top insisted he is determined to restore Leicester to the Premier League.
The club had plans to expand the stadium and build large leisure and office facilities nearby to boost income, which would improve their position with PSR, but relegation has put those proposals on hold. They could be revisited if Leicester return to the top division.
“The first day I came in (August 12, 2010) with my father, we made plans. We loved football and we loved the club. I still feel every bit the same,” he said. “I’m very passionate about football and I said in my first interview, when I was 25, that I wanted to be in this for the long term.
“Selling the club is not the way to exit anyway. I have to make sure that I complete everything that I did here before I want to leave. Now I need to make sure the club is in a good place.
“Then, if some prince comes in and the club can be like Manchester City, for example, maybe yes, but I am sure that is a long, long way away.
“I still love it here. I want to make sure the club is successful again.”
Marti Cifuentes and his players leave the pitch after last weekend’s home defeat against Oxford – he was sacked the next day (Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
A lack of communication has been a big source of the disconnect between Leicester and their loyal fanbase. Khun Top said he has realised that and is determined to improve the relationship between club and supporters.
He has met with the Fans’ Advisory Board during this visit, and plans for the club to be more open in future.
Actions may speak louder than words, but Khun Top and Leicester hope more transparency can start to help heal a rift that has been damaging the club for several years.