Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson says Steven Gerrard was a “big reason” behind his controversial move to Al-Ettifaq.
He signed for the Saudi Pro League club after they agreed a £12m fee with the Reds. The deal saw the former Sunderland academy graduate end his 12-year
association with Liverpool.
The shock switch sparked criticism – including from fan group Kop Outs who questioned the 33-year-old’s decision to move to a state where homosexuality is illegal,
having been a vocal ally to the LGBTQ+ community during his time at Anfield.
Henderson had returned to the AXA Training Centre at the beginning of Liverpool’s preparations for the upcoming Premier League season. He travelled to
Germany, as part of the first leg of their build-up to the season, but missed the opening friendly against Karlsruher SC after an approach from Ettifaq.
Henderson posted a social media message at the time of his departure, although footage of his farewell video and first training session were leaked ahead of the
announcement.
In his first public comments since his Anfield exit, the former Liverpool captain expressed excitement at the prospect of playing in the Saudi Pro League and told of
his hopes to help the game grow in the region.
“It’s exciting times, the project and something different is definitely a reason why I wanted to come here,” he said. “Over the next few years, I’m sure it will grow and
I want to be part of that to try and help it grow.
“I love football so I want to try help it grow all over the world, I know the people in Saudi love football, hopefully we can keep continuing to grow the league over the
next few years, hopefully I can be part of that.”
He added: “It’s a totally different project, experience, which is why I wanted to come and try something completely different to what I’ve been used to for the last
however many years. It’s exciting and I’m just happy to be here and try get started.”
The move sees Henderson reunite with Anfield icon Gerrard after succeeding the Whiston-born midfielder as Liverpool captain.
Gerrard made the move to Saudi Arabia in his first managerial role since he was relieved of his duties by Aston Villa. Henderson says he hopes to push Ettifaq in the
right direction alongside his former Liverpool teammate.
“Stevie was a big reason why I came, to work with him and play under him,” he added. “I think we’ve had some good training sessions, not many, had one game.
“We need to be ready in the next week or so for the first game – I’m sure we will be, we’ve had some good training sessions, a good result the other night so hopefully
we can start things in the right direction and work together to make the team successful.”
At the time that news emerged that he could leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, question marks were raised as to whether it would end his chances of an England call-up.
Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate revealed last week that he had held conversations with Henderson, apparently reassuring him that the opportunity to
increase his number of caps for England wouldn’t diminish.
Henderson continued to outline his ambition to help England ahead of the European Championships in Germany, next summer. He stressed that he still feels that
he can be an asset to the national team.
He said: “I’m focused on Ettifaq and playing my best, if I’m doing that I’m sure there’s no reason I can’t play for England.
“We’ve spoken over the last few weeks about it because playing for England means a lot to me and I can still bring a lot to the team as I had in the past few games
and the World Cup.
“I still feel as though I can bring a lot but I’ve got to do my job for Ettifaq, if I do that then hopefully I can make the team.”
Ettifaq will get their Saudi Pro League campaign underway against Al-Nassr. Cristiano Ronaldo put their opening day visitors on the map after ending his difficult
Manchester United stay by moving to the club.
Former Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane cut short his difficult spell at Bayern Munich for the riches of the Middle East. Mane and Henderson were filmed sharing a
warm embrace at the league’s launch ceremony on Tuesday.
“I’ve just been speaking to Sadio, I haven’t seen him for a while, so it’s nice to see him and some familiar faces. It’s crazy, I don’t think a few years ago I’d have said
we’d have been sitting here. At the same time it’s exciting and good to see them,” Henderson admitted.
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