The other men arrested were Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie, former Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric, former Portsmouth player Amdy Faye and agent Willie McKay.

Redknapp said earlier this week that the police inquiry did not directly concern him.

The 60-year-old has earned a reputation as a great wheeler-dealer in the transfer market but insists that has often had a negative aspect to it.

“Because I have a Cockney accent I’m perceived as some sort of barrow-boy,” he told the Mail On Sunday.

“Sure I’ve bought and sold a lot of players. But that’s because every team I’ve taken over hasn’t been very good.

“I couldn’t tell you the wages of any of my players, as I have nothing to do with the money side of the club.

“I know people will be thinking ’Harry always says it’s nothing to do with him’. But it is nothing to do with me.”

Redknapp had been at Rangers’ Champions League game away to Stuttgart on Tuesday night, meaning his wife Sandra was at their Dorset home alone when the police raided the property.

“At first Sandra thought I must have been in a plane crash,” he added.

“But then they went inside and turned our house upside down. They went through everything.”

He said the raid has made his wife ill and he was now worrying about her health.

Redknapp also revealed he had rejected an offer last year from a “miles bigger” club, believed to be Newcastle.

“I turned down a job last year for miles more money, at a club who, it is not disrespectful to say, are miles bigger than Portsmouth,” he said.

“I didn’t go because I wasn’t prepared to move and I wasn’t prepared to be away from Sandra all week.

“To be honest, £10,000 a week extra, or £15,000 a week, ain’t going to change my life. I know that sounds wrong – I know that by anyone’s standards that’s a fortune. But what I’m saying is money isn’t everything.”

Mandaric, now owner of Championship club Leicester, has also spoken for the first time about his arrest.

“It was humiliating, embarrassing and made me feel completely sick to my stomach,” he told the Sunday Mirror.

“Naturally I have had my ups and downs in the game following three decades of involvement in football. But being arrested and facing unfair slurs and accusations is difficult to deal with.

“What disappoints me is I have always condemned corruption in the game and campaigned to ensure it was cleaned up. So it goes without saying that I fully support the authorities’ investigation into corruption in the sport.”

Mandaric confirmed police had seized some money during the raid on his home.

“That particular point is a real issue to me and will undoubtedly lead to all sorts of misguided claims and accusations. The facts are the police seized some money that was in my possession, all of which I can legitimately substantiate where it came from.

“It is not part of the football investigation, it’s a separate issue. It is standard practice by the police to use money-laundering provisions if they seize any amount of cash from someone.”

Storrie also told the Sunday Mirror: “I was at a complete loss as to why the police came to my house, arrested me and questioned me.

“I appreciate they have a job to do but my involvement in the actual deal (under investigation) was largely negligible.”