Nancy isn't giving up on Sven

Nancy has refused to accept a permanent split despite Sven's insistence that his mind was made up.
The Weekender

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Sven Goran Eriksson has finally blown the full-time whistle on his eight-year relationship with Nancy Dell'Olio.

The former England football manager spent two days negotiating a separation with his fiery Italian lover at their £3million London mansion.

Yet as Miss Dell'Olio flew to Rome yesterday to begin a month-long Italian holiday, friends said that she was still refusing to give up hope.

Despite Eriksson's insistence that his mind was made up - he is said to have offered to buy her another house in London as part of a generous settlement - she refused to accept a permanent split.

Having stuck with Eriksson during the humiliation of his affairs with Ulrika Jonsson and FA secretary Faria Alam, she is understood to be distraught yet defiant.

'As of today, Nancy is saying that there is still hope for them,' says a close friend. 'She is veering between being in tears and flying into a rage, but even at this late stage she has vowed to do anything and everything to keep him.'

The signs, however, are far from propitious. Having spent the past three weeks in his native Sweden, where he retreated after England's dismal World Cup capitulation, the 58-yearold flew back to London on Thursday.

That night a meeting was convened at a fashionable Chelsea restaurant, with legal adviser Richard Des Voeux and agent Athole Still, to discuss the implications of a separation.

On Friday, he met Miss Dell'Olio at their Regent's Park home, which is up for sale. He outlined his plans for the future, which, according to sources close to the couple, do not include her. During two days of protracted talks he is understood to have told Nancy that he wanted to 'move on'.

Miss Dell'Olio, who despite her reputation as a fiery woman is described by those closest to her as 'deeply insecure', was left with little choice but to give in ... for the time being at least.

'She is saying that he is depressed after failing so badly with the England side and that he doesn't really know what he's doing,' said a source.

'Nancy is in denial, and part of that is that she can't bear the idea of being publicly humiliated again. At the moment she is trying to keep things together, but she's panicking.

'Every now and again she realises that Sven is serious and flies into a rage saying, "If he goes ahead and does this to me I will destroy him".'

The means of such destruction would be an autobiography to which Nancy, who is approaching 50 despite claiming to be much younger, is putting the finishing touches.

'For a long time now, Nancy's been hinting that she has Sven over a barrel,' said another source. 'We've always wondered why he stayed with her when he was so obviously running after different women behind her back.

'Knowing Sven it's a fair guess there have been other affairs we don't know about, but she has also had access to all the backstage antics surrounding the England football team over the past five years. What did Sven say about the players behind their backs? What really went on at the FA during the Faria Alam scandal?

'No wonder Sven is being nice to her. Nancy's sitting on a pile of dynamite and he has just handed her a box of matches.'

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