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REVEALED: Aston Villa paid Rangers £4.25MILLION in compensation to poach manager Steven Gerrard... only for Premier League side to sack him 11 months later!

Aston Villa paid out £4.25million in compensation to Rangers for Steven Gerrard, the Scottish side's annual financial report has revealed.

In a report that showed an all-time high turnover of £86.8m, it is a nugget about the compensation package Villa put together to bring Gerrard to Villa Park last year that has caught the eye.

Christian Purslow and Villa's hierarchy made no secret of their pursuit of Gerrard after they dismissed Dean Smith as manager.

Having brought a league title back to Ibrox, Gerrard's stock was high at Rangers and they were reluctant to let him go cheaply.