Bryan
15-01-2006, 11:08
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/images/homepage/00main_left.jpg http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/images/homepage/00main_right.jpg
EXCLUSIVE: He will walk out on England for money
SVEN'S DIRTY DEALS
By Mahzer Mahmood
SCHEMING Sven Goran Eriksson is secretly preparing to DUMP England immediately after the World Cup, the News of the World can reveal.
At a time when the Swede should be focused on vital team preparations, he tried to get an undercover News of the World investigator—posing as a rich Arab—to BUY Premiership club Aston Villa and give him the manager's job on a massive £5 million a year AFTER TAX, plus bonuses.
Crafty Eriksson—who vowed to fans he would see out the last two years of his England contract—even discussed ways of wriggling out of the job behind the backs of his FA bosses.
Watch Sven discussing his dodgy deal with our reporters by clicking on one of the links below.
In a six-month investigation that will stun football, we also tell how:
Eriksson, 57, BRAGGED he could tap up superstar David Beckham and prise him away from Real Madrid to Villa—which is illegal in soccer. He even offered to phone him personally, promising: "He will come tomorrow. And it's up to me to convince him that Birmingham is the right place to be."
The England boss also POURED SCORN on some of Britain's best known players. He even attacked some of England's team, describing one as lazy, criticising another's upbringing and saying a third was not worth his transfer fee.
And he SPILLED private conversations with them to impress his new contacts. He said of Newcastle's record signing Michael Owen: "I asked him if he was happy. He said, ‘Not really with the club', then hinted he was only there for the money."
Eriksson will not be happy either as we reveal what he is REALLY thinking about in the run-up to England's most important challenge this century.
Our investigation began last July when we were told that, despite England struggling to qualify for the World Cup, Sven and his advisors were after lucrative opportunities.
So our undercover Arab contacted Sven's portly agent Athole Still—who negotiated Eriksson's monster £8 million England contract—to see if he would be interested in coaching at a new football academy in Dubai.
We expected the answer to be no because of the pressures of getting England to the finals. Instead it was a very definite YES—and negotiations began.
On Wednesday night Sven, along with Still and lawyer Richard Des Voeux, flew from Heathrow to Dubai where they were put up in the luxurious Burj al-Arab. They met our Arab at the hotel's seafood restaurant. Sven was in a sharp suit and black tie.
By the end of the night the two had ordered and downed champagne along with two bottles of vintage wine costing £900.
Targets
Over crab cakes and lobster, they got down to business. Just under an hour into the meal, Eriksson raised the idea of buying a club with our Arab and his undercover associate.
When they asked which one would be most suitable in England, Eriksson said: "Aston Villa is for sale."
He and Still callously pointed out that it was an excellent target for takeover because its chairman, Doug Ellis, was elderly and in poor health.
Sven: The chairman is an old man today. He's sick.
Still: He's 83. He wants to go.
Still told the reporter it would take £25 million to get a controlling interest in the club. Soon Sven was keen to discuss his own role at Villa when our Arab and his associate asked who they thought should be manager.
Reporter: How do you get the right manager?
Reporter 2: Could we prise you away from England?
Sven: (Laughs)
Reporter: But you're not allowed to do two jobs are you?
Sven: No, but everything is possible. But only at the end of the season.
Reporter: Seriously, are you interested or are you joking?
Sven: No I'm not joking.
Eriksson admitted his England contract lasted until 2008 but added: "After five and a half years... it's a long time to be England manager."
Later during the meal, getting excited about the job, he was even more positive: "Anyhow, if we win the World Cup, I will leave."
The next day Eriksson, Still and one of his lawyers, Richard Des Voeux, joined our Arab and his associates aboard a luxury 72-foot yacht Eternity in Dubai marina. During a three-hour trip, the England coach lounged on the top deck taking in the Dubai coastline.
The sneaky Swede soon got down to money. Eriksson pointed out: "I have two more years with the FA and there I have £3 million net per year, plus bonuses."
He went into detail about how he wanted a three-year deal that would match Jose Mourinho's £5 million-a-year at Chelsea. When asked about annual bonuses for players he suggested £200,000 to £300,000 a year if cups were won. And for himself "a little larger than that".
"Now if I will leave the FA, I should like to have a contract of three years," he added.
The men then discussed getting Eriksson out of his contract with England. Still said there was no notice period. Lawyer Des Voeux said: "There are ways and means once Sven is happy of getting him out."
The two sides agreed to meet in London secretly next week.
Our man told Eriksson before he flew back: "We will try to make some arrangements but we will have to be careful there. Eriksson replied: "Yes".
For more on Sven's dirty deals, including his bent bid for Beckham and revelations about top players including Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, get this week's News of the World newspaper. And be sure not to miss next week's for more of the slippery Swede's revelations.
Comment:
He was ready to sell out his captain, team and the fans
Sports writer of the year Martin Samuel give his verdict on the latest Sven scandal
BERLIN. July 9, 2006. It is the World Cup Final, England versus Brazil.
Up against Roberto Carlos, David Beckham is struggling. He lets Carlos get beyond him; he is not delivering the killer ball to Michael Owen.
Yet England coach Sven Goran Eriksson will not take him off.
He seems incapable of making the change that could win England the World Cup. It is as if Beckham has him in a spell.
This fantasy, however, is rooted in a horrible reality—and it is the reason Eriksson's machinations have been rightly exposed this morning. Put to the test, the England coach was prepared to negotiate his lucrative future employment based around the procurement of England's captain for Aston Villa.
It was a pledge that, if genuine as he believed, would leave him utterly compromised, and unable to approach his job objectively in World Cup year. It would entail keeping Beckham in his corner, whatever the consequences.
Plotted
It would mean the total betrayal of the team ethic, the golden rule that all players are equal and the manager does what is best for the whole, not for any individual.
Entertained on a yacht in Dubai, Eriksson believed he was in business with the future owners of Aston Villa.
He plotted to abandon his contract with the FA after the World Cup. He schemed to get a fellow manager, David O'Leary, removed from his job.
And he was shamefully indiscreet in conversation with men who were basically strangers, revealing details of private conversations with, among others, his striker Michael Owen.
Yet one action above all cast into serious doubt his ability to continue as England manager.
Believing himself to be on the verge of a £15million contract, Eriksson cemented it by offering to telephone Beckham to persuade him to leave Real Madrid. At that moment his behaviour impacted on the most compelling case for the defence: that throughout his rocky road as England manager, Eriksson has remained the consummate professional.
He has been caught playing away before: with Manchester United, when Sir Alex Ferguson was thought to be retiring, and with Chelsea, twice.
Each time he survived because results were good, the players liked him and his dealings with them had not been called into question.
This is different. Eriksson was ready to sell out his impartiality for a good earner.
He was ready to sell out his captain, his team, his long-suffering employers and the millions that follow England.
Had the Aston Villa takeover been authentic, this country would unknowingly be led into the World Cup by a coach unable to make decisions based solely on football matters. Eriksson would have had a vested financial interest in promoting, projecting and indulging one player, above all.
Having first tapped him up.
So now we know what Eriksson is prepared to do, how do we know he will not do it? The men in Dubai were pretending; but Eriksson's next suitors might not be.
Tricked
And if they, too, want Beckham delivered on a plate, why should he not be equally agreeable?
Having refused to sack him for very real negotiations with Manchester United and Chelsea, perhaps the FA will stand by their man through this latest embarrassment.
Maybe they will paint him as the innocent party, tricked into talks about a non-existent job.
Yet if there is one thing Eriksson is not, it is innocent. He knew what he was doing throughout his time in Dubai. He was plotting his escape after the World Cup and ensuring he was well rewarded for his fickleness.
Still, he got England to Germany and the first match is only five months away. What harm has he really done? Everyone is entitled to consider a change of employment, surely? All true. But ask yourself this. July 9, 2006. Who do you want on the touchline?
A man who calls it as he sees it? Or a man who calls it through his wallet?
EXCLUSIVE: He will walk out on England for money
SVEN'S DIRTY DEALS
By Mahzer Mahmood
SCHEMING Sven Goran Eriksson is secretly preparing to DUMP England immediately after the World Cup, the News of the World can reveal.
At a time when the Swede should be focused on vital team preparations, he tried to get an undercover News of the World investigator—posing as a rich Arab—to BUY Premiership club Aston Villa and give him the manager's job on a massive £5 million a year AFTER TAX, plus bonuses.
Crafty Eriksson—who vowed to fans he would see out the last two years of his England contract—even discussed ways of wriggling out of the job behind the backs of his FA bosses.
Watch Sven discussing his dodgy deal with our reporters by clicking on one of the links below.
In a six-month investigation that will stun football, we also tell how:
Eriksson, 57, BRAGGED he could tap up superstar David Beckham and prise him away from Real Madrid to Villa—which is illegal in soccer. He even offered to phone him personally, promising: "He will come tomorrow. And it's up to me to convince him that Birmingham is the right place to be."
The England boss also POURED SCORN on some of Britain's best known players. He even attacked some of England's team, describing one as lazy, criticising another's upbringing and saying a third was not worth his transfer fee.
And he SPILLED private conversations with them to impress his new contacts. He said of Newcastle's record signing Michael Owen: "I asked him if he was happy. He said, ‘Not really with the club', then hinted he was only there for the money."
Eriksson will not be happy either as we reveal what he is REALLY thinking about in the run-up to England's most important challenge this century.
Our investigation began last July when we were told that, despite England struggling to qualify for the World Cup, Sven and his advisors were after lucrative opportunities.
So our undercover Arab contacted Sven's portly agent Athole Still—who negotiated Eriksson's monster £8 million England contract—to see if he would be interested in coaching at a new football academy in Dubai.
We expected the answer to be no because of the pressures of getting England to the finals. Instead it was a very definite YES—and negotiations began.
On Wednesday night Sven, along with Still and lawyer Richard Des Voeux, flew from Heathrow to Dubai where they were put up in the luxurious Burj al-Arab. They met our Arab at the hotel's seafood restaurant. Sven was in a sharp suit and black tie.
By the end of the night the two had ordered and downed champagne along with two bottles of vintage wine costing £900.
Targets
Over crab cakes and lobster, they got down to business. Just under an hour into the meal, Eriksson raised the idea of buying a club with our Arab and his undercover associate.
When they asked which one would be most suitable in England, Eriksson said: "Aston Villa is for sale."
He and Still callously pointed out that it was an excellent target for takeover because its chairman, Doug Ellis, was elderly and in poor health.
Sven: The chairman is an old man today. He's sick.
Still: He's 83. He wants to go.
Still told the reporter it would take £25 million to get a controlling interest in the club. Soon Sven was keen to discuss his own role at Villa when our Arab and his associate asked who they thought should be manager.
Reporter: How do you get the right manager?
Reporter 2: Could we prise you away from England?
Sven: (Laughs)
Reporter: But you're not allowed to do two jobs are you?
Sven: No, but everything is possible. But only at the end of the season.
Reporter: Seriously, are you interested or are you joking?
Sven: No I'm not joking.
Eriksson admitted his England contract lasted until 2008 but added: "After five and a half years... it's a long time to be England manager."
Later during the meal, getting excited about the job, he was even more positive: "Anyhow, if we win the World Cup, I will leave."
The next day Eriksson, Still and one of his lawyers, Richard Des Voeux, joined our Arab and his associates aboard a luxury 72-foot yacht Eternity in Dubai marina. During a three-hour trip, the England coach lounged on the top deck taking in the Dubai coastline.
The sneaky Swede soon got down to money. Eriksson pointed out: "I have two more years with the FA and there I have £3 million net per year, plus bonuses."
He went into detail about how he wanted a three-year deal that would match Jose Mourinho's £5 million-a-year at Chelsea. When asked about annual bonuses for players he suggested £200,000 to £300,000 a year if cups were won. And for himself "a little larger than that".
"Now if I will leave the FA, I should like to have a contract of three years," he added.
The men then discussed getting Eriksson out of his contract with England. Still said there was no notice period. Lawyer Des Voeux said: "There are ways and means once Sven is happy of getting him out."
The two sides agreed to meet in London secretly next week.
Our man told Eriksson before he flew back: "We will try to make some arrangements but we will have to be careful there. Eriksson replied: "Yes".
For more on Sven's dirty deals, including his bent bid for Beckham and revelations about top players including Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, get this week's News of the World newspaper. And be sure not to miss next week's for more of the slippery Swede's revelations.
Comment:
He was ready to sell out his captain, team and the fans
Sports writer of the year Martin Samuel give his verdict on the latest Sven scandal
BERLIN. July 9, 2006. It is the World Cup Final, England versus Brazil.
Up against Roberto Carlos, David Beckham is struggling. He lets Carlos get beyond him; he is not delivering the killer ball to Michael Owen.
Yet England coach Sven Goran Eriksson will not take him off.
He seems incapable of making the change that could win England the World Cup. It is as if Beckham has him in a spell.
This fantasy, however, is rooted in a horrible reality—and it is the reason Eriksson's machinations have been rightly exposed this morning. Put to the test, the England coach was prepared to negotiate his lucrative future employment based around the procurement of England's captain for Aston Villa.
It was a pledge that, if genuine as he believed, would leave him utterly compromised, and unable to approach his job objectively in World Cup year. It would entail keeping Beckham in his corner, whatever the consequences.
Plotted
It would mean the total betrayal of the team ethic, the golden rule that all players are equal and the manager does what is best for the whole, not for any individual.
Entertained on a yacht in Dubai, Eriksson believed he was in business with the future owners of Aston Villa.
He plotted to abandon his contract with the FA after the World Cup. He schemed to get a fellow manager, David O'Leary, removed from his job.
And he was shamefully indiscreet in conversation with men who were basically strangers, revealing details of private conversations with, among others, his striker Michael Owen.
Yet one action above all cast into serious doubt his ability to continue as England manager.
Believing himself to be on the verge of a £15million contract, Eriksson cemented it by offering to telephone Beckham to persuade him to leave Real Madrid. At that moment his behaviour impacted on the most compelling case for the defence: that throughout his rocky road as England manager, Eriksson has remained the consummate professional.
He has been caught playing away before: with Manchester United, when Sir Alex Ferguson was thought to be retiring, and with Chelsea, twice.
Each time he survived because results were good, the players liked him and his dealings with them had not been called into question.
This is different. Eriksson was ready to sell out his impartiality for a good earner.
He was ready to sell out his captain, his team, his long-suffering employers and the millions that follow England.
Had the Aston Villa takeover been authentic, this country would unknowingly be led into the World Cup by a coach unable to make decisions based solely on football matters. Eriksson would have had a vested financial interest in promoting, projecting and indulging one player, above all.
Having first tapped him up.
So now we know what Eriksson is prepared to do, how do we know he will not do it? The men in Dubai were pretending; but Eriksson's next suitors might not be.
Tricked
And if they, too, want Beckham delivered on a plate, why should he not be equally agreeable?
Having refused to sack him for very real negotiations with Manchester United and Chelsea, perhaps the FA will stand by their man through this latest embarrassment.
Maybe they will paint him as the innocent party, tricked into talks about a non-existent job.
Yet if there is one thing Eriksson is not, it is innocent. He knew what he was doing throughout his time in Dubai. He was plotting his escape after the World Cup and ensuring he was well rewarded for his fickleness.
Still, he got England to Germany and the first match is only five months away. What harm has he really done? Everyone is entitled to consider a change of employment, surely? All true. But ask yourself this. July 9, 2006. Who do you want on the touchline?
A man who calls it as he sees it? Or a man who calls it through his wallet?