Sven-Goran Eriksson saw Sir Alex Ferguson's true colours in 'I will kill you' row

Sven-Goran Eriksson once told Sir Alex Ferguson to “f*** off” after the Manchester United legend threatened to “kill him” over Wayne Rooney’s involvement in the 2006 World Cup. The former England manager, who sadly died from cancer on Monday at the age of 76, refused to bow down to Ferguson’s demands.

The United icon was insistent that Rooney should not play in Germany due to a broken metatarsal he had sustained prior to the tournament. But the then-England chief ignored his warnings and selected the youngster for duty all the same.

Eriksson recounted a fiery phone call with Ferguson during an interview with The Times in 2019. And he recalled: “With Alex, the amazing thing was it was seven o’clock in the morning or earlier. Always.

“When he was angry. And never ‘Hello Sven, how are you? ‘ It was ‘whuurssshhhh’ [yelling]. I thought he should kill me. He said, ‘I will kill you. You are finished.’

“But I represented England, and you have to stand up. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong, and when you say ‘Don’t pick Rooney because I’m going to kill you,’ I said, ‘F*** off, what’s going on with you?’

“And he was screaming. Whenever he got like that… it has no meaning. That’s why I was, ‘Alex, I will pick Rooney. Now, have a nice holiday. Ciao, bye.'”

Former FA vice-chairman David Dein shared details of the same explosive exchange between the pair to corroborate that tale. In his book ‘Calling the Shots: How to Win in Football and Life’, Dein wrote it was the only time he saw Eriksson lose his cool while managing England.

Dein wrote: “The only time I ever saw Sven annoyed was when Sir Alex Ferguson called him at our World Cup base in 2006. Fergie was furious that Wayne Rooney was going to play at the World Cup, with England gambling on his recovery from a broken metatarsal. ‘You’re finished,’ he screamed. Sven lost it. ‘F*** off,’ he said. ‘Alex, I will pick Rooney. Have a nice holiday. Ciao, bye.'”

Sadly, the incident led to national disappointment. Despite regaining fitness for the quarter-final match against Portugal, Rooney was sent off following a notorious incident involving United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

This marked the end of Eriksson’s reign as he left after losing on penalties. He had previously encountered Ferguson during his stint as Lazio boss, and they would meet again twice more when Eriksson managed Manchester City in the 2007/08 season.