Aston Villa Boss Furious With Opposite Number at Manchester City

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It’s not the first time that Sven-Goran Eriksson has landed himself in hot water with alleged comments made regarding Aston Villa. You may recall the News of the World sting in January 2006, when the then-England manager claimed to a ‘fake sheikh’ that Aston Villa could be bought for £25 million and that players such as David Beckham could be attracted to join them.

Now it appears the Man City boss is doing his level best to steer players away from Villa Park. The Telegraph have reported that Eriksson has been speaking to Juventus, advising them to sign fellow Swede Olof Mellberg! Naturally, this has incurred the wrath of Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill.

“Recommending Olof to another club is surprising. Maybe I should recommend some of his Manchester City players to Barcelona or Manchester United and see how he likes it.

“Olof has shown a fantastic attitude for us this season and of course I would like to keep all our best players.

“I was really surprised with what Sven has said because it’s out of character for him to be speaking like that.

“I’m not sure he should be saying things like that about our player unless he is aiming to take him for his club.”

Mellberg has entered his seventh season as an Aston Villa player, although the Midlands club are unlikely to be playing Champions League football next season and the lure of playing in this competition could be too strong for someone who has been a loyal servant to the Midlands club.