SVEN-GÖRAN ERIKSSON has risked further public criticism just eight weeks before the World Cup finals after it emerged that the England head coach opted to travel to China to pursue a business opportunity rather than attend any of last weekend’s round of Barclays Premiership matches.

The Times has learnt that Eriksson flew to Shanghai on Friday to promote a property development for a real estate firm and returned to England yesterday afternoon.

Claims in the Shanghai Daily that Eriksson had been paid between €200,000 (about £139,000) and € 300,000 for his services were strongly rejected by the Swede’s agent last night, although Lars Sternmarker refused to be drawn on how much his client had actually received, indicating only that it was a nominal sum.

The four-day trip was given the full backing of the Football Association, although with less than a month to go before he announces his 23-man squad for the finals in Germany — and with the fallout from the infamous “fake sheikh” affair still fresh in the memory — Eriksson seemed to accept that the decision would attract criticism when quizzed by Chinese reporters.

“They [the media] have criticised me for long,” he said. “I can live with that. Besides, the FA will not assemble the national squad until May 15.

“I think before that I am allowed to arrange my own schedule . . . so when I received an invitation from my Chinese friends here, I simply told myself, ‘Why not come to have a glimpse of this great country?’ ”

Eriksson was flown to China by Shanghai Ninth City Property, a real estate developer, to publicise one of its residential housing projects in the suburban Songjiang district. The Swede also used his first visit to the country as an opportunity to meet Zhu Guanghu, the China head coach, and members of the Chinese FA.

Sternmarker claimed that Eriksson had spent most of Sunday watching televised coverage of Chelsea’s game with West Ham United and Manchester United against Arsenal, although that is unlikely to appease those who believe that the England head coach should be attending such fixtures, not watching them from the opposite side of the globe.

The FA played down Eriksson’s business dealings, insisting that “the small amount of commercial activity he puts in does not interfere with his role as England head coach”, but since the publication of a series of embarrassing revelations to an undercover reporter posing as a wealthy Arab prompted the FA to announce in January that Eriksson would leave his job after the World Cup finals, two years before his contract expires, the Swede has been under greater scrutiny.

Since taking charge of England five years ago, Eriksson has complied a CD of his favourite classical music, become the face of a Swedish mineral water company and endorsed two PlayStation games, although those close to him insist that he is highly selective about which commercial ventures he pursues. Sources close to Eriksson insist that he earned only in the region of £10,000 for his China trip.

“Sven went to China with the full permission and support of the FA,” Adrian Bevington, the governing body’s director of communications, said. “I don’t think anybody would disagree that Sven watches his fair quota of matches. He probably has a better record than any England manager in history.

“He is fully committed to the World Cup and we know he is similarly committed to England.”

One of Eriksson’s first jobs upon returning to England will be to speak to Wayne Rooney over his reputed gambling debts of £700,000, although he does appear to have ruled himself out of becoming the coach of the China football team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. “I am not here for that,” he said when the idea was put to him.