Reports in the News of the World with supposed quotes from Sven have apparently rocked The Football Association.
Following on from our story earlier, it appears the quotes attributed to Sven are now in full circulation! An undercover reporter posing as an Arab businessman led Sven down the garden path and the plonker fell for it hook line and sinker!
An FA spokesman has already said: ‘We want to reflect on the article in full before we make any formal comment.’ Our poll is asking if you would like Sven at Villa (yeah, I know, the story wasn’t true anyway!) and only 21% so far have said yes. The majority say no, nor O’Leary!
The report in the News of the World alleges Eriksson says ‘Aston Villa is for sale’ adding ‘The chairman is an old man today. He’s sick.’
It goes on to say that Eriksson said he may be able to bring Beckham to Villa Park: ‘I’ll phone Beckham. Beckham and I, we have a relationship like that (he crossed his fingers). We are friends, but a lot of respect. He will come back tomorrow. And it’s up to me to convince him that this is the right place to be.’
With the suggestion of leaving he is alleged to have said: ‘No but everything is possible. But only at the end of the season.’ adding ‘No I’m not joking. After five-and-a-half years – it’s a long time to be England manager. Anyway if I win the World Cup, I will leave, goodbye.’
Surely the FA now have a way, if they wish, to dismiss the manager without a pay off?
He is also alleged to have gone into the details of the sort of salary he would want: ‘I have two more years with the FA and there I have £3million net per year, plus bonuses. Now if I will leave the FA, I should like to have a contract of three years. I think Mourinho today…. is on five million net. I think he might be the highest paid today. That’s the area you have to think about.’
Meanwhile Sven Goran Eriksson’s agent says the report is ‘scurrilous entrapment’.
He told Sky Sports News
‘Anyone, any fair-minded person, who knows the true background to how this happened will, I believe, 100 percent support Sven and our case in this. Of course, it’s hugely embarrassing but to be absolute, I feel that of the two parties involved – namely The News of the World and ourselves – the party that should be most embarrassed is The News of the World. That they should come out and go to such enormous lengths, and you have no idea the lengths they went to, because this is something that began many, many weeks ago.’
Adding: ‘There was never any question whatsoever of them buying a football club or of Sven coaching that football club. It was a question of an approach we had from what seemed to be a perfectly respectable company in London, which does work in the Middle East, who had a client that was looking for consultants for a major sport and football project in the Middle East. It was not an offer to Sven. It was an enquiry about whether he might be interested in becoming a consultant.’
Sounds to me that Sven is the one who should be embarrassed. Not sure now is the time to change a manager or who would be available though, especially at such a crucial part of the season.
£3million a year, sex scandals and now this. Seems the FA should also have cause for some embarrassment?
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