Sven-Goran Eriksson has been told he will be sacked as Manchester City manager at the end of the season, BBC Sport understands.
City owner Thaksin Shinawatra told Eriksson he was "not the right man for the job" at a meeting on Sunday, a source close to the manager said.
Eriksson informed the players at training on Monday that he would be dismissed, provoking an angry response.
The Swede, who has two years left on his contract, says he will not resign.
Shinawatra has been unhappy with City's results since the turn of the year.
The Thai billionaire was at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday to watch his team throw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 against Fulham.
Afterwards, he held a meeting with Eriksson and told him he would be dismissed after their final two games of the season.
"Sven reacted calmly, as usual, but he was very surprised and disappointed," the source told BBC Sport.
"He doesn't want to leave the club and will not resign. He loves working with the players and his work at Manchester City has only just begun."
City confirmed that Eriksson would be in charge for the final two games of the season, away at Liverpool and Middlesbrough, but made no comment about what would happen in the summer.
Eriksson's assistant, Tord Grip, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he expected them to leave City at the end of the season.
606: DEBATE
It's absolutely crazy - I'm shocked
rommy123
"We will be here for the two last matches. They probably think that we haven't done a good enough job", said Grip.
"Sven will receive new offers soon I'm sure."
Eriksson took over as City manager five weeks before the start of the season and the team occupied third spot in the Premiership in November.
However, their form has faltered badly since Christmas and they now lie ninth, having won just four of their last 15 games.
"The team has not been playing as well as it should have or getting the right results since Christmas," said the source.
"But overall it has been a good season. Thaksin agreed a five-year plan with Sven in the summer and the target for the first year was to finish in the top 10."
I think it is crazy that his job is even being talked about as being in danger - he has been good for everyone at City
Last week's Micah Richards column
Shinawatra bankrolled eight summer signings at a cost of more than £46m shortly after buying the club, but BBC Sport understands he has had no direct contact with Eriksson in the second half of the season.
"They met several times personally at the start of the season and then nothing," said the source.
"Sven has had a list of players he wants to sign next summer for several weeks, but he hasn't been able to get the go-ahead to get them.
"He talks to (City chief executive) Alistair Macintosh, but things break down when he then goes to the chairman."
The City players are understood to have reacted with a mixture of shock and anger when Eriksson told them he would be leaving.
Last week, City defender Micah Richards said in his BBC Sport website column that the players were "100% behind" Eriksson.
"I think it is crazy that his job is even being talked about as being in danger - he has been good for everyone at City," said Richards.
Shinawatra will now set about the task of landing a new manager, with Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari already touted as a replacement for Eriksson.
It seems certain that any new manager will have a considerable amount of money to spend in the summer.
Shinawatra has hundreds of millions of pounds worth of assets in Thailand frozen as he awaits trial on corruption charges later this year.
Yet his former lawyer, Noppadom Pattama, who is now Thailand's foreign minister, told BBC Sport that he expected these assets to be "unfrozen in the near future".
This is absolutely pathetic. Top ten finish with Benjani being the only incoming player in the January transfer window.
Players and fans are firmly behind him.
Best finish in god knows how long.
Folks actually talking about City in decent terms again.
And what does the owner want to do? Sack him.
If the arguement is to be made that Sven wasted his transfer money, I need only point to one Roy Keane who spent as much, if not more. And he's getting a contract extension.
This is another case of owner "knows best".
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I agree with you guys. Sven has his own way to manage the team, so the players need to adapt to the scheme. And I think it can't be done in one season. He needs more time and I'm sure he will do a great job.
But, hey, we're talking about Shitty, so to hell with him
he will be Benfica's new coach next season..Today's night, Rui Costa (player, and future football director) and Luis Filipe Vieira (Benfica's president) have been with Sven at Manchester to set the move.... cheers. i'll try to found a new about this...
Real shame that he was pushed out by the owner. He really didn't do anything wrong. The team improved mightily, the fans and players adored him and folks were giving respect to City again.
Can't stress enough what a daft move it is to sack Sven. He's an excellent, excellent manager.
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Man, I'm sure Benfica fans are going to very happy again with Sven.
I have a feeling that if Sven is meeting up with Benfica officials, that he will eventually resign as City coach. It would put a better spin on things with the fans and players. However, we all know the real reason Sven is leaving.
QWERTY. You shuld really start up a Benfica thread. Since you are your favoured team, it would help members who aren't familiar with the club, to get some knowledge from a fan. I'll shoot you a pm.
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City's Sven in talks with Benfica - £1.8m deal offered Last updated at 23:05pm on 7th May 2008
Sven Goran Eriksson yesterday met representatives of Portuguese club Benfica as he began preparing for life after Manchester City. Sportsmail can reveal that the Swede met Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira and sporting director Rui Costa at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, where he has been living during his 10 months in the city.
It is believed that the Benfica contingent left the meeting believing the former England coach would take the job, but Eriksson later told friends he was still undecided.
The fact that he agreed to speak to the Potuguese in such a high-profile place clearly indicates that he expects the sack once the season is over. Eriksson managed Benfica from 1982-84 and 1989-92, and Vieira had high hopes of tempting him back when he arrived in Manchester on a private jet yesterday morning, but his offer of £1.8million a year will not match the £2.5m the Swede earns at City.
He is almost certain to be sacked by owner Thaksin Shinawatra when he returns from a post-season tour of the Far East at the end of the month — although the former Thai prime minister may yet be handed his dream of European football for City, who are the Barclays Premier League Fair Play winners.
They finished fifth in the Fair Play League behind four clubs who are already in Europe next season — Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Norway top UEFA's Fair Play League and are expected to be awarded an automatic place in the UEFA Cup. Behind them the next best seven countries — England, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Spain and Estonia— go into a draw for two more places.
Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has held talks with Portuguese club Benfica, BBC Sport understands.
The City boss, whose job is under threat from club owner Thaksin Shinawatra, has twice previously managed the Lisbon club.
BBC Sport understands Eriksson has been told he will be sacked at the end of the season and Luiz Felipe Scolari has been approached as a replacement.
Thaksin has claimed Eriksson's future as City boss is yet be resolved.
"We have made no decision," said the former Thai prime minister. "We will do an evaluation at the end of the season."
The Swedish coach's agent Athole Still was unavailable for comment late on Wednesday.
Benfica spokesman Ricardo Maia said: "Whether someone is or is not in Manchester to try to persuade Eriksson, we have nothing to say about it."
Eriksson has coached Benfica twice, leading the Lisbon club to two championships and a domestic cup in the early 1980s.
He then went to Italy but returned to Benfica in 1989, taking the club to the 1990 European Cup final, a game they lost to AC Milan, before winning the Portuguese title in 1991.
Benfica risk missing out on a Champions League spot for next season after a disappointing season.
They are fourth in the SuperLiga, three points behind rivals Sporting Lisbon.
It looks like City's owner is determined to sack Sven. They have already found two candidates to replace Eriksson: Scolari and Jol;
Quote:
Former Tottenham boss Martin Jol on Manchester City's shortlist to replace Sven
Martin Jol has joined Phil Scolari at the top of Manchester City's list of candidates to replace outgoing manager Sven Goran Eriksson.
Sportsmail understands former Tottenham boss Jol has been contacted by City representatives and urged to hold fire over his proposed move to Hamburg.
Jol was due to be unveiled by Hamburg over the weekend but has agreed to delay any decision on his future after telling friends he would be strongly interested in a return to the Barclays Premier League.
City are expected to renew contact with him on Monday, 24 hours after what seems sure to be Eriksson's last game in charge, as owner Thaksin Shinawatra steps up his search for a successor.
Scolari remains the prime candidate to fill the vacancy but is reluctant to declare his hand until after this summer's European Championships, when he feels he could be in a stronger position than ever to take his pick of Europe's top club posts.
There will be no shortage of takers for the Portugal coach, and City are clearly making provision for a counter-offer from one of Spain's leading clubs proving decisive.
Hamburg are desperate to appoint Jol as soon as possible but have been told by his advisers they will have to remain patient, while he waits to discover the extent of City's interest.
Eriksson holds Benfica at bay and has eye on Chelsea job.
Sven-Goran Eriksson is believed to have stalled on an offer to become Benfica manager.
Sven-Goran Eriksson is waiting to see what happens to Avram Grant at Chelsea before he commits himself to Benfica, or any of the other clubs who have approached him, now that it is an open secret that he will shortly leave Manchester City.
Eriksson has been led to believe that he stands a good chance of getting the job at Stamford Bridge if Roman Abramovich decides to pay off Grant after the Champions League final later this month. Eriksson would prefer, if possible, to stay in England and his elaborate network of contacts, including some of the more powerful agents in the business, are working on his behalf. The Swede is fully aware about Grant's precarious position.
Eriksson has spoken to Chelsea before and, in one of his more infamous moments, he was photographed leaving the flat of the club's chief executive, Peter Kenyon. The Swede was contracted to the Football Association at the time and the clandestine nature of the talks led to some furious criticism, but he has always maintained that he never did anything wrong and has remained in touch with the Chelsea hierarchy. Just as importantly, his closest ally, Pini Zahavi, is one of the few agents who has regular contact with Abramovich.
If Grant keeps his job Eriksson is resigned to leaving England. Italy is his next favourite destination and he is monitoring the situation at Internazionale. A delegation of Benfica officials met the Swede in Manchester on Wednesday to offer him a three-year contract worth an annual £1.8m. That represents a £700,000-a-year pay cut and Eriksson, who prizes his wealth, is understood to have reservations about returning to the Portuguese club for what would be his third spell as their manager.
Benfica officials were briefing the Portuguese media last night that they expect Eriksson to accept their offer, providing another club does not hijack the deal. Yet Eriksson could be forgiven for being unimpressed that a Portuguese television crew was outside the hotel where the talks took place. The suspicion in Portugal is Benfica tipped off the crew as a publicity stunt to demonstrate how hard the president, Luis Felipe Vieira, was working to find a top-class manager. Officially, the television station claims it was in Manchester to do a Cristiano Ronaldo feature.
Sven to be sacked
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