“After snubbing Chelsea, Ken Bates said, ‘I hope you have an effing nightmare against us home and away’, and slammed the phone down. I quite liked that!” Ray Houghton on his Liverpool exit

During his five-year stint with Liverpool, Ray Houghton won four major honours, as the Reds picked up two league titles and a pair of FA Cups in the final years of a dynasty that stretched back to the 1970s.

After arriving from Oxford United in 1987 for a fee of £825,000, the Republic of Ireland international would go on to make more than 200 appearances for the Anfield side before he was transferred to Aston Villa for a fee of £900,000 at the start of the 1992/93 campaign.

Graeme Souness was in charge of the Reds at this point, following the resignation of Kenny Dalglish and Houghton - who was included on FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest Irish players ever - has detailed the circumstances of his exit.

Houghton on his Liverpool exit

"It was down to money,” Houghton tells FourFourTwo. “Graeme wouldn’t pay me anywhere near what some other players were on, and his argument was that I wasn’t someone he’d signed.

“He said I was his most consistent and best player that season, but he didn’t want to give me any real raise. I don’t think he treated me in the right way. I’ve since worked with him at [broadcaster] RTE in Ireland and it’s never been mentioned.”

Villa and their boss Ron Atkinson had to fend off interest from Ian Porterfield’s Chelsea side to land the 73-time international, with Houghton recalling a conversation with one of that era’s most bombastic chairmen during the transfer saga.

"I was in Italy on pre-season training with Liverpool when I got a call,” he continues. “Graeme said, “Here’s your flight back – Chelsea are interested and want to talk to you, and so do Villa.”

“I spoke to both of them and eventually decided on Villa. I rang Ken Bates, Chelsea’s chairman, and he said in no uncertain terms, “I hope you have an effing nightmare against us home and away,” and put the phone down.

“I quite liked that! He was no-nonsense.”

Houghton would quickly establish himself as a fans’ favourite at Villa Park, as the team finished runners up behind Manchester United in the Premier League during his first season with the club, before he helped the West Midlanders win the League Cup in the 1993/94 season.

Spells at Crystal Palace and Reading followed before he dropped into non-league with Stevenage Borough got a brief stint before hanging up his boots in May 2000.