Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has strongly criticised Jordan Henderson’s comments in his recent interview about his move to Saudi Arabia.
Henderson, who left Liverpool to join Al-Ettifaq this summer, suggested in his interview with The Athletic that he left Liverpool because he didn’t feel wanted at the club.
Henderson stated that there was an approach from Al-Ettifaq, and the reaction from the club “maybe it had shifted” in terms of his value and desire to stay.
“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.”
These comments appeared to contradict what Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had previously stated. Klopp expressed his surprise when Henderson informed him of his desire to move on. He said (via The Telegraph):
“Was I surprised when Henderson said he wanted to move on? Of course.
We had a relationship for eight years.
He knew the situation that we wanted to keep him but if he wanted to leave we weren’t going to throw rocks and stones in the way. It was about reacting to it.”
Simon Jordan didn’t mince his words when reacting to Henderson’s interview on talkSPORT.
He dismissed Henderson’s attempt to deflect attention from the financial aspect of his move, stating that it’s evident the primary motivation behind the transfer was money.
Jordan argued that it would have been more honest for Henderson to acknowledge that money played a significant role in his decision.
He pointed out that the move to Saudi Arabia offers Henderson a substantial financial package, and trying to downplay this aspect doesn’t align with the reality of the situation.
“It’s ridiculous for him to say he hasn’t gone predominantly for the money. He’s a parrot!”
“If you were on your old #LFC wage, would you still have gone to ‘grow the sport’?” ?
?? Simon Jordan strongly reacts to Jordan Henderson’s reasoning for playing in Saudi. pic.twitter.com/qXYMV0aEFa
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) September 5, 2023
He said (quotes via Mirror):
“It’s ridiculous for him to say that he hasn’t gone to Saudi predominantly for the money,”
“I don’t care if he has gone for the money or not but, the bottom line is, that’s what he has gone there for.”
“Jordan Henderson cannot get past the inevitable. I would much rather him turn around and say ‘one of the driving factors was the money’.”
“You’re an international footballer, you’re playing for Liverpool and you’re going to a league that has enormous amounts of money.”
“What are the other predominant reasons then? I’m sure he does care, but the reality of caring and then suffering a consequence of suggesting I’m not going to go to particular environments is not what he is prepared to do.”
“I don’t blame him for going there for an inordinate amount of money at whatever age he is. At the end of the day, footballers are there to enjoy their careers and if someone is foolhardy enough to pay him £400,000 or £500,000 per week, then that’s on them.”
“But let’s not dress it up into what it isn’t, it is predominantly a money transaction.”
Jordan Henderson is currently under scrutiny from England fans, and it’s expected that he won’t receive the warmest reception if he takes the field for England during international duty this week.