Looking over his shoulder? Eriksson was convinced his then-girlfriend was having an affair with Tony Blair, the interview suggests.

‘Sven’s sexual jealousy of Blair’

‘Sven’s sexual jealousy of Blair’

By politics.co.uk staff

Sven-Goran Eriksson was "wild" with jealousy at the idea that his lover was having an affair with Tony Blair, a new interview has suggested.

Talking to the Telegraph newspaper, Nanacy Dell’Olio, who split from the former England football coach after he had a string of affairs, said Cherie Blair “was jealous of me from the outset" and "couldn’t help showing it”.

She added: "'He [Eriksson] was convinced we were having an affair and it drove him wild.

"I was careful never to disabuse him of the notion. It was good to keep him on his toes."

The 50-year-old Italian lawyer, who was recently voted off the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, gushed praise on Mr Blair.

“Tony was wonderful, extremely attractive, one of the best communicators I’ve ever encountered," she said.

“He was a political visionary who transformed Britain’s image in the eyes of the world.”

“He had a genius not unlike JFK’s. But JFK’s wife was bright and beautiful, while Tony’s…"

Ms Dell'Olio is currently embroiled in a bitter legal dispute over the £1.8 million Eaton Place home she shared with Mr Eriksson.