Leicester City’s billionaire Thai owners were reportedly prepared to lay out £180 million to achieve their dream.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his son Aiyawatt wanted to break down the door to the Premier League’s top five and thought, having achieved promotion in 2014, that it would take them five years. In fact it took only two and £55 million to reach English football’s summit.
The going has not always been good for the club or its owners. There have been racism claims against some players and concerns remain over whether money spent on getting promoted met league rules.
Nevertheless Mr Srivaddhanaprabha, the chairman, and his son, the vice-chairman, will feel that their approach — and investment — has been vindicated by this week’s success.
According to Forbes, the family made their $3.2 billion (£2.2 billion) fortune running King Power, which controls the duty-free monopoly at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports in Bangkok, as well as other businesses.
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Mr Srivaddhanaprabha senior bought the club for a reported two billion baht (£39.3 million) in 2010, having already agreed a sponsorship deal. Both the club’s shirts and its stadium, which the family bought from a US pension fund manager in 2013, bear the King Power name.
His son was reportedly the driving force behind the appointment of Claudio Ranieri as manager after Nigel Pearson was sacked.
The family changed their name from Raksriaksorn in 2012, having been given the blessing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. The father announced: “It is our family’s greatest honour to receive this royally granted surname. Srivaddhanaprabha conveys positive attributes and brings in prosperity to our family.”