Premier League champions Leicester City greeted in Thailand

By Sky Sports News HQ

Leicester City arrive in Thailand for their end of season tour to a heroes' welcome

Leicester's Premier League winning squad were given a heroes' welcome in Thailand by hundreds of football fans on Wednesday.

Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri, captain Wes Morgan and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel led the team, who arrived without star forwards Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, through a media scrum at Bangkok's main airport.

After receiving flower garlands and doing a choreographed Thai bow or 'wai' for the cameras, the players were led to their bus which was surrounded by a raucous set of fans chanting the team's name.

Thailand has taken to Leicester after the team became champions of the English top-flight for the first time in their 132-year history this season.

Image: Some locals greeted the Leicester squad at Bangkok's main Airport

The club are owned by Thai duty-free billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who owns the King Power brand, which is associated with Leicester through their stadium and shirt sponsorship.

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The devout Vichai has repeatedly flown Buddhist monks to the UK to bless the players and stadium. 

Leicester City captain Wes Morgan says the Premier League champions won the title because of the togetherness of the squad

Most Thais knew little about the one-time minnows before Vichai bought the club in 2010.

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Ahead of the tour, club vice-chairman Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha, Vichai's son, warned his players to behave considering last summer's fall-out when Tom Hopper, Adam Smith and James Pearson - the latter the son of the club's then manager Nigel Pearson - were sacked after a club probe into allegations of racially abusing local women in a hotel.

Image: Kasper Schmeichel, Claudio Ranieri and Shinji Okazaki at Bangkok Airport

"The players are massive now and they want to say thank you to the Thai fans," Top said.

"The players need privacy as well, but I've talked to them and they know they need to treat everything well."

The team will have two days of press and publicity duties in Thailand as they continue to celebrate their success having begun the season as 5,000-1 outsiders.

On Thursday, the squad will be involved in an open-top bus tour of Bangkok.

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