Sven: I'd break bank for Rooney

Sven Goran Eriksson admits he would pay £60 million to land Wayne Rooney.

The out-going England coach ended his time with the national side in ignominious circumstances when The Three Lions bowed out of the World Cup in a customary fashion courtesy of a penalty shoot-out defeat to Portugal at the quarter final stage.

Rooney made the headlines in that particular game after seeing red for a stamp on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho but the incident has not soured his relationship with Eriksson.

It was the studious Swede that handed a fledgling Rooney his international head and having worked with the player at close quarters, he remains a staunch admirer of the Manchester United man's talents.

Although Eriksson's record with England has been less than glorious it seems likely that he will not be short of suitors given his impressive record in domestic football prior to his appointment, with Internazionale reportedly interested.

He is, though, well aware that to be in the market for Rooney he would have to be installed at one of Europe's superpowers - of the opinion that it would take an astronomical offer to lure him from Old Trafford.

"He is a very special player, the sort every manager would like,'' he told The People.

"I would have to say, though, that I would need to be in charge of a club with lots of money because it would take a huge offer to get him away from Manchester United.

"I'm not even sure how much we are talking. How much did Chelsea pay for Andrei Shevchenko? £30m?

"Then Rooney would be more than that, much more, perhaps even double. So you see, I will have to have a very rich club indeed to even think about buying him."