MANCHESTER City fans are not the only ones losing out over the controversial sacking of Sven.
Staff at some of the city's swankiest haunts are also saying a fond farewell to one of their best customers.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has settled his bill at the five-star Radisson Edwardian hotel - his home for nine months - and eaten his last risotto parmesan at his restaurant of choice San Carlo.
Restaurant and hotel staff across Manchester have admitted they are `sad to see him go' and no more so than at the Radisson where he has been occupying a posh suite with a rate of £1,500 a night since September.
Discount
It is understood the Swede negotiated a discount. But even at a reduced rate of £1,250 a night his stay would have set him back more than £300,000 - and that's without laundry bills, £40-a-head meals at the hotel's Opus One restaurant, the `very generous' tips he became renowned for and the option for £60-an-hour Swedish massages in the hotel's Spa.
The hefty bill could have bought him his own city centre apartment or even a row of four terraced houses in Beswick within shouting distance of City's Eastlands home.
A hotel insider said: "He was a great guest. He got on well with staff and mixed with guests. He will be missed."
Rumour has it that some City players jokingly likened Sven to the fictional TV character Alan Partridge. Partridge - the creation of Middleton comic Steve Coogan - was a nomadic DJ who lived out of a Travelodge while working on a Norwich radio station. Sven was even reported to have dismantled the Corby trouser press in his room, during an afternoon of boredom. Helen Dobson, head receptionist, said: “He called reception one rainy Monday afternoon to let us know that he’d dismantled the trouser press and couldn’t re-assemble it. We didn’t mind – he’s not the first and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”
Sven was regularly spotted fine dining in the city and his favourite eateries said they were disappointed to lose a `valued' and `popular' customer. Giorgio Balduini, manager at San Carlo, on King Street West, served up Sven's dishes of choice, lemon veal and risotto parmesan, at his favoured booth - table number three - on countless occasions, including his 60th birthday. Giorgio, a City fan, said: "He always picked up the bill for his guests - a very generous man."
Sven is reported to have eaten at Spanish tapas bar El Rincon around once a fortnight with his back room staff.
Owner Rafael Cabrera said: "He was very good with my staff and a very good tipper."
In one visit to trendy Japanese restaurant Sapporo Teppanyaki, in Liverpool Road, he left a £100 gratuity for staff after dining with three pals.
And at the Lowry, Salford - where he stayed during the first two months of his contract - he scooped a goat's cheese tart off the floor after it accidentally landed at his feet courtesy of a neighbouring diner. He also sang a romantic tribute – The Carpenters’ ‘Close To You’ – on Valentines Night which he dedicated to his female dining partner/co-eater lady.
Staff at some of the city's swankiest haunts are also saying a fond farewell to one of their best customers.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has settled his bill at the five-star Radisson Edwardian hotel - his home for nine months - and eaten his last risotto parmesan at his restaurant of choice San Carlo.
Restaurant and hotel staff across Manchester have admitted they are `sad to see him go' and no more so than at the Radisson where he has been occupying a posh suite with a rate of £1,500 a night since September.
Discount
It is understood the Swede negotiated a discount. But even at a reduced rate of £1,250 a night his stay would have set him back more than £300,000 - and that's without laundry bills, £40-a-head meals at the hotel's Opus One restaurant, the `very generous' tips he became renowned for and the option for £60-an-hour Swedish massages in the hotel's Spa.
The hefty bill could have bought him his own city centre apartment or even a row of four terraced houses in Beswick within shouting distance of City's Eastlands home.
A hotel insider said: "He was a great guest. He got on well with staff and mixed with guests. He will be missed."
Rumour has it that some City players jokingly likened Sven to the fictional TV character Alan Partridge. Partridge - the creation of Middleton comic Steve Coogan - was a nomadic DJ who lived out of a Travelodge while working on a Norwich radio station. Sven was even reported to have dismantled the Corby trouser press in his room, during an afternoon of boredom. Helen Dobson, head receptionist, said: “He called reception one rainy Monday afternoon to let us know that he’d dismantled the trouser press and couldn’t re-assemble it. We didn’t mind – he’s not the first and I’m sure he won’t be the last.”
Sven was regularly spotted fine dining in the city and his favourite eateries said they were disappointed to lose a `valued' and `popular' customer. Giorgio Balduini, manager at San Carlo, on King Street West, served up Sven's dishes of choice, lemon veal and risotto parmesan, at his favoured booth - table number three - on countless occasions, including his 60th birthday. Giorgio, a City fan, said: "He always picked up the bill for his guests - a very generous man."
Sven is reported to have eaten at Spanish tapas bar El Rincon around once a fortnight with his back room staff.
Owner Rafael Cabrera said: "He was very good with my staff and a very good tipper."
In one visit to trendy Japanese restaurant Sapporo Teppanyaki, in Liverpool Road, he left a £100 gratuity for staff after dining with three pals.
And at the Lowry, Salford - where he stayed during the first two months of his contract - he scooped a goat's cheese tart off the floor after it accidentally landed at his feet courtesy of a neighbouring diner. He also sang a romantic tribute – The Carpenters’ ‘Close To You’ – on Valentines Night which he dedicated to his female dining partner/co-eater lady.
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