Jordan Henderson Bizarrely Named One of Saudi’s Best Signing

Ex-Liverpool star, Jordan Henderson has been named ‘one of the best Saudi Pro League signings’ despite his disastrous spell before he left to join Ajax in January.

Henderson signed a lucrative contract with the Middle Eastern club Al-Ettifaq last year, sparking controversy about his departure from Liverpool. However, in January, his contract was dissolved, which made it possible for him to join Ajax, a massive Dutch team. Nevertheless, Saad Al Lazeez, the vice-chairman of the league, claims the English midfielder was a fantastic signing.

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Lazeez said at the the Financial Times Business of Football Summit: “Jordan Henderson, even though he left, was one of the best signings in the Saudi Pro League. We signed 93 players in the summer window, and I would say 28 to 30 of them would be in anybody’s list of the top 300 players, and you don’t expect all of them to stay. Sometimes things do not work out, sometimes the player does not adapt, you expect those things to happen.”

He added: “I still maintain Jordan Henderson was one of our best signings, we benefited a great deal from his signing, we’re learning a lot of lessons and we will continue to grow from there. We have been with Jordan throughout his journey from the day we signed him in the UK. We still maintain a good relationship with him. He’s a great guy, a great person. It just did not work out. So that’s life.”

Henderson’s relocation to Saudi Arabia caused controversy back home since England supporters jeered him during international games. In addition, he was criticised by the LGBTQ+ community, for which he expressed regret after departing the nation.

He said: “If any people from that community feel let down or hurt I apologise. If anyone was offended or feel as though I upset them, that’s on me, that was my decision and I apologise for that. It was never my intention.”

Henderson has played for Ajax four times, but due to an injury, he hasn’t played in their last two games. When the Amsterdam team hosts Utrecht in the Eredivisie on Sunday, he might be in action once more.