How Aston Villa and Liverpool transfer fell apart amid 'jealous' claim

CommentsSportFasika Zelealem Senior Sports Reporter , Ben Crawford Senior Sports Writer and Leigh Curtis12:23, 08 Mar 2026Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has claimed that a "jealous" Gerard Houllier prevented his return to Anfield from Aston Villa.

The 44-year-old, who has also questioned Arne Slot's long-term prospects at Liverpool, alleges he was willing to accept a 50 per cent wage reduction to facilitate the transfer, but his request was turned down. Warnock came through the ranks at Liverpool, featuring 67 times for the senior side before departing in 2007.

Following a stint at Blackburn Rovers, he moved to Villa Park under the stewardship of the late Houllier, who had previously managed the Reds.

After relations deteriorated between player and manager, the left-back requested a move away, with his former club initially keen to secure his services on a temporary basis. Despite his willingness to significantly reduce his salary, the proposed return to Merseyside collapsed, with Warnock holding Houllier 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," reports Liverpool.com.

"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.'"

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The arrangement was to begin as a loan deal, potentially becoming permanent. Warnock recalled his response: "Yeah, brilliant. Get it done." McAllister's advice to him was clear: "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.

"They were like, 'No, no, we can't do that.' That was Villa saying that.