Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson died owing the taxman millions, it has been revealed.

Eriksson was among the highest earners on around £4.5 million per year during his stint as Three Lions boss between 2001 and 2006.

Accounts published in his native Sweden on Tuesday showed he had debts totalling 118 million kronor – the equivalent of £8.6 million – when he died.

A staggering £7.2 million of that was owed to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK.

Eriksson’s lawyer and close friend Anders Runebjer reckoned the final figure could be even higher as they await the total claims from HMRC, or the interest owed on those tax debts.

“Sven has already paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to the tax authorities, but still, they have more claims, and we don’t know exactly how much it will be in the end.”

Runebjer, who says he is trying to avoid declaring the estate insolvent, blamed Eriksson’s tax debts on poor investment decisions – including a failed film scheme in 2006.

The ex-England chief was among hundreds, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Glenn Hoddle, who piled money into Eclipse Partnerships.

The series of film financing schemes, conceived by HSBC, claimed they would make money by buying the rights to blockbuster Disney movies and leasing them back to studios.

Investors were told they could defer their tax bills and spread the payments out over a number of years, but HMRC became concerned the £2.2 billion scheme was being used to avoid tax, leading them to take Eclipse to the Supreme Court in 2016.

Investors were handed accelerated payment notices the following year – reversing the tax benefits they had previously enjoyed and demanding they pay interest on the multi-million-pound sums.

HMRC then made a “dry tax” charge against Eclipse members, meaning they also faced income tax liabilities on money they never received.

“The film scheme would not have been profitable even if it had gone exactly as planned. It was more or less a scam.”

The inventory, seen by Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, revealed Eriksson owned £4.8 million in assets – meaning his estate has a deficit of around £3.8 million.

The former Three Lions chief previously confessed to being “stupid” with money and having poor control over his finances, saying: “I have no idea how much money I have and where it is.”

He admitted he was even close to bankruptcy at one point after being “defrauded” of £10 million by his financial adviser Samir Khan.

Eriksson took Khan to court in 2011 where he allegedly accepted having “unlimited access” to the star’s fortune and blowing money on dubious investments and property schemes.

The footie coach received an apology but said he never got the money back. The outstanding debts are understood to be unrelated to Mr Khan.

It comes as the Swede’s lakeside property on a secluded estate in Sunne has been put on the market for £1.8 million. Preparations to sell his seven-bedroom mansion, which has its own private beach, began in September.

Eriksson paid £420,000 for the 19th century mansion in 2002 when he was in a relationship with Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio.

Sven died on August 26 last year after suffering from pancreatic cancer aged 76.