Major League Soccer deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis has turned down the chance to become executive chairman of Manchester City.

The Manchester Evening News says Gazidis was understood to be reluctant to relocate his family from Connecticut.

A specialist firm working for the Blues had spent months looking for the right candidate to fill the new post.

The role has been created to take some of the work off Thaksin Shinawatra and chief executive Alistair Mackintosh as City expand their interests globally through academies and partnerships with foreign clubs.