{"id":107653,"date":"2025-10-08T01:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/107653\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T01:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:25:10","slug":"former-liverpool-captain-jordan-henderson-opens-up-on-really-tough-anfield-exit-and-350000-a-week-move-to-saudi-arabia-it-felt-like-a-break-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/107653\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson opens up on ‘really tough’ Anfield exit and \u00a3350,000-a-week move to Saudi Arabia: ‘It felt like a break-up’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jordan Henderson<\/a> couldn\u2019t bring himself to flick on any Premier League<\/a> football \u2013 let alone Liverpool<\/a> matches \u2013 when at home in Saudi Arabia, grappling the lifestyle change, new league and stifling climate.<\/p>\n

The way the England<\/a> midfielder describes that feeling of emptiness at waving goodbye to Anfield after 12 years makes it sound as if he fetched the dressing gown, brought the duvet downstairs and reached for the Cadbury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018It felt like a break-up,\u2019 he says. \u2018Really tough. It had been my life for so long and then it is just gone like that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Henderson clicks his fingers, adding: \u2018I struggled for a period after that. I had such an attachment and I dedicated a large part of my life there.\u2019<\/p>\n

Remarkably it\u2019s only two years since he joined Al-Ettifaq, the move sold to him by manager Steven Gerrard<\/a>. Henderson lasted only six months of a \u00a3350,000-a-week contract where wages were deferred for tax reasons.<\/p>\n

Previously a public advocate for LGBTQ<\/a>+ rights, his reputation took a severe hit, and even though living halfway around the world, that criticism will have been inescapable. Despite moving to Ajax five months before the European Championship<\/a>, Gareth Southgate<\/a> didn\u2019t take him and the ex-Liverpool skipper rented a luxury van with a driver to go to and from the Netherlands with his family for the final in Berlin.<\/p>\n

\"England <\/p>\n

England star Jordan Henderson has opened up on his ‘really tough’ exit from Liverpool in 2023<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The ex-Reds captain guided Liverpool to multiple trophies before leaving for Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n

\"The \"He <\/p>\n

Henderson joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq on a deal worth \u00a3350,000 per week in 2023<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t think it was the reason why I missed the Euros,\u2019 he contends. \u2018When I was in Saudi I think I was in every camp prior to the Euros. [But] in hindsight, maybe I would have made different decisions.<\/p>\n

\u2018But at the time that is how I felt and the decision I made was for many different reasons and only I know the reasons. In the end, I tried to do the right thing.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ajax reignited some passion, some belonging, and Henderson hopes more performances for Brentford like his in slender defeat by Manchester City on Sunday can force a way into Thomas Tuchel\u2019s preferred starting XI. Four appearances under Tuchel so far, one of them a start, with Henderson\u2019s experience \u2013 and perhaps close bond with Jude Bellingham \u2013 seen as key qualities the veteran can offer heading into the World Cup.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old bristles at those suggestions, the narrative that Tuchel has consistently picked him for aspects other than his ability as a central midfielder.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have shown what I can do for England over the years,\u2019 he says. \u2018I am still playing at a high level. Outside, people can think what they want. The most important people are the manager, the coaching staff and the players and what they think.<\/p>\n

\u2018Ask them what they think, if I am a cheerleader when I am here. I don\u2019t think one of the best managers in Europe would be choosing me just to do that. If I have to speak to younger players, that should be a given, really. It is natural that the older you get, the more experienced you are, of course you want to pass on those experiences to younger players coming into camp.\u2019<\/p>\n

So to Bellingham. Somebody whose absence for this month\u2019s internationals has stolen more focus than the actual games, a friendly against Wales and World Cup qualifier in Latvia. Bellingham wanted to join the group after returning from shoulder surgery for Real Madrid in recent weeks \u2013 albeit with only one start \u2013 but Tuchel took a different outlook, explaining he was keeping broadly the same group as September.<\/p>\n

Bellingham\u2019s influence in the dressing room, the long shadow of his parents and the midfielder\u2019s on-pitch attitude are all reasonable debating points around the country\u2019s finest footballer. In Henderson, he has an ally, the pair clicking immediately when Bellingham made his debut five years ago this month. Henderson presented him his cap before a friendly against Austria at the Riverside and is also somebody who has been known to become exuberant on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\"He <\/p>\n

He has\u00a0 a new lease of life at Brentford and has kept his spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad<\/p>\n

\"Henderson <\/p>\n

Henderson was picked in midfield while England superstar Jude Bellingham (above) was not<\/p>\n

\u2018Maybe that\u2019s why I get booed a lot!\u2019 Henderson laughs. \u2018For players, the perception outside\u2026 those outside don\u2019t know, do you know what I mean?<\/p>\n

\u2018The players know what Jude is like as a person and as a player. He is a world-class player and a world-class person, and he makes the England team even better because of the type of player that he is. He has got an elite mentality.<\/p>\n

\u2018He is very special. We have a few special players in this squad, to be fair. But with Jude, I think we all knew he was a very special player when he first came into the squad.<\/p>\n

\u2018The way he trains, the way he lives his life around football, loves the game, wants to improve and there is the ability that he has on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u2018He has been injured for a good few months. I know what he is like, he will be focused on his football, focused on making sure that he is as fit as possible, so when he returns he is flying.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jordan Henderson couldn\u2019t bring himself to flick on any Premier League football \u2013 let alone Liverpool matches \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[118,18,3801,22,19,17,67286,1009,119,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-107653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-england-football","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-jordan-henderson","15":"tag-liverpool","16":"tag-sport","17":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}