A former Liverpool star desired a return to Merseyside but claimed his return was blocked after a relationship breakdown
Stephen Warnock speaking
Stephen Warnock claimed his return to Liverpool was blocked(Image: Undr The Cosh)
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Stephen Warnock has claimed that a "jealous" Gerard Houllier thwarted his return to Liverpool from Aston Villa. The 44-year-old alleges he even proposed to slash his wages in half to facilitate the move, but his appeal was dismissed.
Warnock kicked off his career with the Reds and racked up 67 first-team appearances before departing in 2007. Following a stint at Blackburn Rovers, he found himself at Villa Park playing under the legendary former Liverpool manager Houllier, who died in 2020.
After a disagreement, the full-back sought a transfer and his childhood club were ready to welcome him back initially on loan. However, his Anfield reunion never came to pass despite his willingness to reduce his salary and Warnock believes Houllier was responsible.
Speaking on In The Mixer, sponsored by Sky Bet, Warnock revealed: "So Gerard Houllier was the manager of Aston Villa and I had a falling out with him. I was basically put on the reserve team squad. Then Gary McAllister came to me, another assistant manager doing the manager's job, to say, 'Kenny Dalglish has been on the phone.
"He wants to re-sign you for Liverpool.' It was at least on loan to start with, with a view to a permanent. So I was like, 'Yeah, brilliant. Get it done.' And he was like, 'It's the right thing for you. Go back and enjoy your football.'
"But I think there was an element of Gerard Houllier being jealous of the fact that I could go and play for Liverpool and I could go back there and be happy. It's a bad look. So they turned around at the last minute and put I think a half-million-pound loan fee on. Liverpool were like, 'Hang about, you've just changed the goalposts.'
"Anyway, the deal fell through and I ended up sitting in the reserves for the rest of the season. Head loss completely. I mean, it got to the point where they had to move me off the reserve team pitch because I was booting balls into the middle of their training sessions.
"When I was supposed to be going back to Liverpool, I said to them with the loan deal, 'Well, if we can make it work, chop my wages in half.' I was like, 'I'll take less. I don't care. Just let me go back and play.'
"They were like, 'No, no, we can't do that.' That was Villa saying that. I was like, 'Yeah, you can. You're making half my wages back for doing nothing. Just let me go. And Liverpool are going to cover my wages there.' They wouldn't do it."
Stephen Warnock of Aston Villa celebrates his goal against Bolton
Stephen Warnock signed for Aston Villa in 2009(Image: Getty)
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Houllier stepped down as Villa manager at the conclusion of the 2010/11 season after a period of ill health. Warnock was reintegrated by his successor, Alex McLeish, and remained at Villa Park for another season before a loan spell at Bolton and a subsequent permanent move to Leeds.
He later played for Derby, Wigan, Burton Albion and Bradford before hanging up his boots in 2018 and transitioning into punditry.