Jordan Henderson DEFENDS his £700,000-per-week move to Saudi Arabia and claims it isn’t money-motivated… as he faces tough reception on return to England duty
- Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has revealed why he quit Anfield
- He said he didn’t feel assured over playing time before joining Al-Ettifaq
- Henderson refuted claims he is on £700k a week and it wasn’t just about money
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has revealed why he left Anfield this summer – claiming his ‘value had shifted’ and wasn’t guaranteed regular minutes under Jurgen Klopp – but insisted joining Al-Ettifaq was not about the money.
The England midfielder signed for the Saudi Arabian outfit – managed by Reds legend Steven Gerrard – this summer and has received huge criticism over his move to the Middle East – where he is reportedly on eye-watering wages of £700,000-a-week.
But the 33-year-old has refuted claims around his pay package, as he set the record straight about his predicament at Liverpool that forced him to pursue a new challenge – saying it was vital he was playing regularly ahead of Euro 2024.
‘There were a few things that sent alarm bells ringing,’ he told the Athletic. ‘I’ve got a very good relationship with Jurgen. He was very honest with me.
‘I won’t go into detail about the conversation because it’s private, but it put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much. I knew there were going to be new players coming in my position.
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has revealed why he left Anfield this summer before joining Saudi side Al-Ettifaq
The England star said his value had ‘shifted’ and was not assured of starts under Jurgen Klopp
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‘And if I’m not playing, as anybody will know, especially the manager, that can be quite difficult for me and especially when I’ve been at a club for so long, I’ve captained the team for so long. Especially when England’s a big thing for me.
‘You’ve got the Euros coming up. And then there was an approach from Al-Ettifaq to the club to see if it would be possible for me to go there. The reaction from the club again wasn’t to say no.
‘At that moment I felt as though my value or the want for me to stay, with the manager and within the club, maybe it had shifted. I knew that time would come at some point. I didn’t think it would be now. And I had to accept that.’
Henderson ended a 12-year stay at Liverpool that saw him lift eight trophies as skipper but some may say his tenure on Merseyside ended on a sour note after he opted for riches of Saudi. His reported salary one of the more high profile of those who have flocked for the country’s top division this summer.
Henderson has received a huge backlash over his lucrative salary but he insists the move was not purely about money
He said it was vital to play regular minutes to stay in contention for England ahead of Euro 2024
But Henderson laughed off suggestions he was collecting £700,000-a-week at Al-Ettifaq and said he had struggled with suggestions he had only joined the club purely for cash incentives.
‘That was the hardest thing,’ he added. ‘People will see this club come with loads of money and he’s just gone, “Yeah, I’m going.” When in reality that just wasn’t the case at all. People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever.
‘No. I wish it was [£700,000-a-week] (laughs). No, honestly, the numbers just aren’t true. But again, it had to work out for us financially as well. I’m not saying that it didn’t and I’m not saying, “Oh, I’m not on good money”, because it’s good money and it was a good deal but it wasn’t the numbers that were reported.’
Henderson – who racked up 492 appearances for the Reds, scoring 33 times in a hugely successful spell – admitted he didn’t have a huge amount of interest this summer as he outlined the ‘exciting’ challenge he was looking for and how much he enjoyed feeling ‘wanted’.
The 33-year-old outlined how he wanted an ‘exciting challenge’ and could not turn down the chance to work with Reds legend Steven Gerrard (L)
‘I wanted something that would excite me. And that’s not to say those clubs wouldn’t excite me because they are great clubs and they come with really different challenges. But it needed to be something that I felt as though I could add value in and do and try something new, a new challenge and for different reasons.
‘And this opportunity with Stevie (Gerrard) in a totally different league and totally different culture was something completely different.
‘It’s nice to feel wanted. I know Stevie really wanted me. I know the club really wanted me to go and they wanted us to try and build over the next few years — something that is here to stay and be one of the best leagues in the world.’
As well as feeling the heat over his salary, Henderson has also been the target of a huge backlash from LGBTQ+ groups who strongly urged him not to take the move over the Saudi regime’s stance on homosexuality – which illegal and punishable by death.
Henderson admitted it ‘hurt’ him to savaged by LBGTQ+ groups over his decision to play for a Saudi Arabian club
Henderson has previously been a vocal ally of the LGBT+ community in football – wearing rainbow laces and a rainbow arband in the past. He insisted the decision was a ‘difficult’ one and that suggestions he had turned his back on those communities ‘really hurt’ him.
He admitted he did have second thoughts about the move due to the viscious response but ultimately made the decision to join Al-Ettifaq with his family in mind – though he hopes his presence can shine a light on the negatives of the Saudi regime and did not rule out making a stance against them.
‘There can be a lot of criticism, a lot of negativity around me as a person. And that was difficult to take,’ he said. ‘But I just feel as though, because I do care about different causes that I’ve been involved in, and different communities… I do care. And for people to criticise and say that I’d turned my back on them really, really hurt me.’
‘I think there was always going to be criticism regardless of what I did, whether I stayed, whether I went. So basically I had to make the decision on what was best for me and my family.
Henderson has previously been a vocal ally of LGBTQ+ communities – wearing rainbow laces and armbands
‘And obviously the LGBTQ+ community. I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that. My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone. My intention has always been to help causes and communities where I felt like they have asked for my help.
‘Now, when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change.’
When asked if he would make a stand – such as by wearing rainbow laces – he said: ‘I wouldn’t rule that out. But at the same time, what I wouldn’t do is disrespect the religion and culture in Saudi Arabia. If we’re all saying everybody can be who they want to be and everybody is inclusive, then we’ll have to respect that.
‘We’ll have to respect everyone. And by doing something like that, if that did disrespect the religion, then no, I’m not going to do that. But if the opportunity comes where I can do it and it doesn’t, then yeah, because that’s my values.’
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