Former Liverpool director Damien Comolli has revealed his belief that he was removed from his position for investing in a young Jordan Henderson.
The Frenchman left Anfield in 2012 after what the club considered disappointing work in the transfer market, with one of the deals coming under the spotlight being the £16m signing of Henderson from Sunderland, as reported by BBC Sport.
While he struggled initially on Merseyside, the 26-year-old has gone on to become an important figure for both club and country in the time since and has now taken up the captain’s armband for both.
Having come under significant scrutiny for his signings during his two-year spell with Liverpool though, Comolli has insisted that the likes of Henderson were behind his sacking.
“Henderson is one of the main reasons I got sacked,” Comolli told talkSPORT. “The day I got sacked they told me I had made a big mistake on Jordan and he was a waste of money.
“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think we paid the right price. He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued. But we were more than happy to pay the price because we thought he would become an outstanding player.
“I never said it publicly, but I was convinced he would be the future captain. People will say it is easy to say now, but I was convinced at the time that he would become the Liverpool captain. Now he is and he is also the England captain.”
While it’s certainly easy for Comolli to make assertions such as the latter about Henderson being a future captain, it appears as though the signing could now turn out to be an important one for Liverpool.
Having now grown into his role with the Reds in midfield and still at the age of 26, Henderson will be expected to become an integral part of both his club and country’s success moving forward.