EXCLUSIVE: Player who captained Everton and Liverpool reveals truth about Goodison exit

ECHO exclusive as Connor O’Neill chats to Steve McMahon about captaining Everton and Liverpool, his Goodison Park exit and the Merseyside derby

From a Goodison Park ball boy to becoming Sir Kenny Dalglish’s first signing. What he achieved during his time as a player is never likely to be repeated again. And, if it is, it will be hugely controversial.

Born into an Everton-mad family, McMahon rose through the ranks and was eventually the man tasked with leading his side out. He would later go on to receive the ultimate compliment from Bob Paisley, as well as captaining the Reds.

But, as Everton prepare to take on Liverpool at Anfield this weekend, does McMahon think anyone will ever follow in his footsteps?

“I’m not sure,” he replies when asked that question. “Who knows? I captained both, and I played for both.

“I played with both player-managers, which I believe will never be done again. I was just proud to be a Scouser, basically, and play for two fantastic clubs.

“I’m proud, as I say, to be a Scouser. I played for Everton and captained Everton. I played for Liverpool and captained Liverpool. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Speaking to the ECHO at an event to celebrate 100 years of The Pools, McMahon also sets the record straight on his acrimonious exit from Everton in 1983. The former midfielder received vitriolic abuse from Evertonians for years after leaving Goodison to join European Cup winners Aston Villa.

“I didn’t walk out on Everton; I would have gladly signed a new contract with Everton, but Howard Kendall, God bless him, didn’t tell the truth about why I left,” McMahon reveals.

“My contract was up. They didn’t offer me what I was worth. I had been there for three years as a pro, with the same money; nothing changed, and it was an insult, to be fair, as to what they offered me.

“I wasn’t prepared to accept that. I was captain, a local boy, and I just thought they were taking the mickey out of me, out of local guys. You had other people coming in, and it didn’t sit well with me, so I decided to leave.”

The criticism aimed at McMahon intensified when, only two years later, he joined Dalglish’s Liverpool. His name was etched into the club’s history books as a result of the transfer.

During his time at Anfield, the former England international would go on to win three league titles and two FA Cups, scoring 50 times in 277 appearances. Legendary Kop boss Paisley also once said: “When Steve McMahon plays well, I always think that Liverpool will play well.”

But while some were shocked and angered to see McMahon make the move to Anfield, he admits he actually rejected the chance to move across Stanley Park when he left Everton, turning down a double-your-money offer from Liverpool.

“I could have signed for Liverpool in the first place,” he recalls. “I spoke to Bob Paisley, and whatever Villa offered me, Liverpool said they would double it, basically.

“But I just felt it wasn’t the right time for me to move straight from Everton with all the stuff that was going on.

“So I decided to make a clean break and move to Villa. By the way, Villa were a good side and had just won the European Cup.

“In the end, it worked out because I got a second bite of the cherry, and I wasn’t going to turn it down.

“People say, ‘What was it like to play against Everton once you have been captain at Everton?’ I say it would be quite easy because football was my game.

“I settled in straight away. Ultimately, I scored the winning goal after three games against Everton at Goodison Park. So I hit the ground running.”

And, as Sean Dyche and Jurgen Klopp’s respective sides prepare for Saturday’s clash, McMahon believes those who will be involved will be playing in the ‘best game in world football’.

“For me, it is the best game in world football,” he says. “It is not so much this day and age. But when we played, it was families split, half and half; they would go to the games together, hand in hand; now it is a proper game, and fans are a bit more bitter and twisted at times.”