How Sven-Goran Erikkson blew £10million as it's revealed he died millions in debt

Former England head coach Sven-Goran Erikkson was one of the highest paid football managers in the world during his career but was close to personal bankruptcy after being tricked by a cruel scam

The lawyer of Sven-Goran Erikkson has said it will be "no surprise at all" for his family that the former England manager died in debt.

The beloved football coach died with a debt of millions of pounds, it has been revealed. Despite earning big money managing teams including England and Manchester City, he was close to personal bankruptcy after being scammed out of 100 million.

Sven died at the age of 76 in August last year after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. On Tuesday, the legendary football coach's estate was published - revealing that he died with a debt of 118 million kronor (£8.6m).

Respected Swedish newspaper Gotesborg-Posten reported that at the time of his death, there were 66 million kronor of assets, but the estate inventory also shows that he had debts totalling 118 million kronor. This means that the estate has a deficit of just over 51 million kronor (£3.7m). The financial details have been filed with the Swedish Tax Agency.

Sven family's lawyer, Anders Runebjer told Swedish publication Expressen: "It is no surprise at all for those involved. It was expected. Svennis even said that 'I will not leave any money behind me'. And that was the case. It is the debt to the English tax authorities that is the background to the large total of debts. If it were not for that then there would have been no danger."

Sven's will states that his assets go to his children Lina and Johan. They would in turn ensure that Sven's father Sven Eriksson, 95, could continue to live at the same financial level as he does today. According to Expressen, Sven also wanted to give his girlfriend Yaniseth ten million kronor(£730,000), provided that his assets exceeded 100 million(£7.3m).

Part of the money for his girlfriend was intended to pay for her son's university education. Sven also wanted to give one million kronor to his brother Lars-Erik Eriksson, as a thank you for taking care of their mother and father. The estate inventory also shows that Sven's funeral in Torsby cost 650,000 kronor (£47500). An additional 30,000 kronor has been set aside for a tombstone.

In 2011, Sven went to court after one of his financial advisors Samir Khan allegedly accepted 'unlimited access' to Sven's wealth and proceeded to blow £10 million on dubious investments, including property schemes. Writing in 2013, Sven said: "I was not interested in the details: if he said that an investment was sound, I trusted him."

In his memoir, Sven revealed his "problems started with a mortgage" as his financial advisor couldn't get help him secure a loan to buy his £1.7million flat, but knew someone who could - Samir Khan. "By 2008, Samir was handling all my finances," Sven recalled. "I was not interested in the details: if he said that an investment was sound, I trusted him. I didn’t even read through the long contracts. Sometimes, he’d fax over just one page for me to sign."

Writing in his 2013 autobiography, the late football coach recalled: "The truth is that I never cared about money. Not one bit. Suffice to say that Samir caught on pretty quickly. While I was England manager, he’d suggested investing in a technology company he said was going to be acquired by Hewlett Packard. I didn’t have to put in any of my own money, Samir explained — he’d borrow it on my behalf. So I agreed to invest almost £1 million. But about a year and a half later, the company still hadn’t been sold."

He later explained how "alarm bells rang one day" when Harry Redknapp's agent called his accountant to suggest the scheme wasn't what it seemed. Sven went on to run into Harry who bluntly told him his financial advisor was "no good". "My suspicions were finally raised when Samir wanted my signature to raise a mortgage on a house I owned in Portugal," Sven then revealed.

Sven's stunning Björkefors manor, nestled by Lake Fryken in Värmland, is reportedly on the market following his death last year. Sven's friend and author Bengt Berg remarked: "I have seen the news but I cannot say if it's a shock or not. I never had any insight into his finances."

The football world mourned Sven's passing on August 26 last year due to pancreatic cancer. Renowned for leading England to quarter-finals in the World Cup (2002, 2006) and Euro 2004, he also clinched Lazio's first Serie A title in 26 years and later managed Manchester City and Mexico's national team.

In a touching farewell in his Prime Video film, Sven reflected: "I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well. You have to learn to accept it for what it is." He hoped to be remembered kindly, saying: "Hopefully at the end people will say yeah he was a good man, but everyone will not say that."

Sven wished to be recalled as a positive individual who gave his all, adding: "I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do." His final words were heartfelt: "Don't be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it's been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye."

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