Just 976 fans turned up to watch Jordan Henderson’s Al-Ettifaq side play in their Saudi Pro League fixture.
The former Liverpool captain joined Al-Ettifaq this summer, ending his 12-year career with the Reds. He signed a deal worth £350,000 until 2026 to reunite with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who currently manages the side.
Henderson, 33, sparked controversy with the transfer and even claimed his decision was not financially motivated. But the Englishman’s recent matches demonstrate barely a fraction of the passion and support he experienced at Anfield.
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Al-Ettifaq beat Al-Ta’ee 4-3 on Thursday to record their fifth win of the season. Their previous game was a 3-1 win over Abha in front of a measly 976 spectators at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium.
That number sent shockwaves through football Twitter as fans realised it was fewer than the turnout at National League games – and even some games lower in the English pyramid. The stadium was only 3.9% full despite the star quality on show with Henderson, Moussa Dembele and Demarai Gray all featuring.
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It comes as little shock, however, given that Al-Ettifaq's home attendance has been around 6,804 this season. Even that number is skewed thanks to the 13,930 who came to watch Cristiano Ronaldo when he visited with Al-Nassr.
Henderson is yet to play in front of more fans in any of his five games in Saudi Arabia thus far. A close second was the away clash at Al-Hilal, which drew 13,656 supporters.
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Henderson’s other two outings saw crowds of fewer than 5,000 spectators turn up, with 4,200 in the stands for a home clash with Al-Khaleej and 2,281 for the visit of Damac.
It marks a huge difference to Anfield’s season-high attendance of 50,109 this season. Liverpool’s only other home fixture this term drew in 49,699.
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