Former Liverpool captain Steve McMahon has spoken of turning down the Reds when first leaving Everton.

McMahon angered Everton fans for years after leaving Goodison Park in 1983 to join European Cup winners Aston Villa.

And the criticism aimed at McMahon intensified when only two years later he joined Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool.

"Nobody actually got the true story, even some of the players I played with didn't know the true story," McMahon told talkSPORT.

"At the end of the day, I was an asset and Everton wanted to sell me. Simple as – that's football.

"But if that was the way it was, then they should have come out and said so rather than make me the villain of the piece because that didn't help me for two or three years."

McMahon even admitted that he turned down a double-your-money offer from Liverpool when he signed for Villa.

He added: "I was sat in an office with my dad – I'd already agreed to go to Villa, but then I got a call from Liverpool telling me they wanted to sign me.

"People say I was greedy and left Everton for the money.

"I didn't because Liverpool offered me more. They actually said: 'What have Villa offered you?' I told them the package, which at the time was a lot of dough, and they said 'we'll double that, no problem.'

"And I told them that for personal reasons and family reasons I think it's best I don't sign for Liverpool.

"That's the way I left it. They appreciated it and wished me luck and then later I had the opportunity to come back.

"That's the way it is and you have to conduct yourself properly. I did it for the right reasons."