Ex-Liverpool star was denied emotional Anfield return by 'jealous' manager

Stephen Warnock was keen to return to Liverpool from Aston Villa in 2011 and was even willing to take a pay cut to make the move happen, but Gerard Houllier had other ideas

Stephen Warnock has reflected on his playing career(Image: Undr The Cosh)

Stephen Warnock has alleged that a "jealous" Gerard Houllier blocked his return to Liverpool from Aston Villa.

The 44-year-old, who believes Arne Slot's future at Anfield is in doubt, claims he even offered to halve his wages to make the move possible, but his plea was rejected. Warnock began his professional journey with the Reds, making 67 appearances for the first team before leaving in 2007. After a spell at Blackburn, he ended up at Villa Park under the management of the late former Liverpool boss Houllier.

Following a disagreement, the left-back sought a transfer, and his boyhood club was initially open to bringing him back on loan. Despite his readiness to take a pay cut, his Anfield homecoming never materialized, and Warnock points the finger at Houllier.

Recounting the incident on In The Mixer, sponsored by Sky Bet, Warnock shared: "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.'

Gerard Houllier stopped Warnock from returning to Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

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."