Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has spoken out on his departure from the club for the first time, suggesting that Jurgen Klopp made it clear he was no longer a key part of his plans.
The England international made the controversial decision to leave Liverpool for a move to Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq, linking up with former Reds teammate Steven Gerrard.
Henderson received a huge backlash for this transfer decision, particularly from the LGBTQ+ community, and he’s looked to apologise and explain himself in an interview with The Athletic.
It seems talks with Klopp about his role in the Liverpool team were key, with the 33-year-old feeling that he wanted to play and feel important, with money supposedly not a major motivator for him.
“There were a few things that sent alarm bells ringing,” Henderson said. “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.
“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.
“I’ve got very good relationships with Jurgen, with the owners of the club. That’ll be forever. What we’ve achieved together in the past 12 years has been incredible. But at the same time, it was hard for me to take that.”
Liverpool have completely rebuilt their midfield since Henderson left, while Fabinho also made the move to Saudi Arabia this summer, with Klopp now having new signings Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo as his new options in that area of the pitch.