Jordan Henderson's humiliation with Saudi stars 'hating every minute' of moves

12 October 2023 , 09:32

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Jordan Henderson's humiliation with Saudi stars 'hating every minute' of moves

For Jordan Henderson and co, maybe money doesn't always make the football world go round.

The ex- Liverpool captain was one of the most high-profile stars to be lured to Saudi Arabia in the summer, accepting an offer to reunited with former teammate Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq. The England player has since denied he's earning the reported £700,00-a-week wages, but the move has still proved controversial given his previous support for LGBTQ+ rights.

But Henderson was hardly alone. The likes of Fabinho, N'Golo Kante, and Aymeric Laporte all upped and left the Premier League, whilst iconic names like Neymar and Karim Benzema headed to Saudi from PSG and Real Madrid respectively.

However, despite being lined with star power, the Saudi league is not enjoying the increase in crowd numbers to accompany the rise in publicity. And according to the Sun, a number of new players are 'hating every minute' of their new career experience.

And yet, many could find themselves tied down for two or three-year periods. Regardless of regrets, the prospect of the Saudi Pro League allowing their investments to head home prematurely seems a distant one.

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Indeed, venue support for games has been scarce. Henderson's new side only drew in a crowd of 9,827 when they were beaten by Al-Fateh last Thursday, just a month after a mere 976 people saw them win 3-1 at Abha Club.

Jordan Henderson moved to Al-Ettifaq in the summer (Getty Images)

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The report also claimed that 11 of the clubs currently average under 5,000 in 2023, and two of them under 2,000. It's a far cry from the exhilarating atmospheres and sell-out crowds that many of the new stars have been used to in Europe.

However, Saudi is now strongly fancied to host the 2034 World Cup following developments this month. Bidding for that tournament will only be open to countries from the Asian Football Confederation and Oceania Football Confederation after it was confirmed the 2030 version would be spread across three continents.

Saudi have already announced their intention to submit a bid, with Cristiano Ronaldo set to be an ambassador for the venture. Henderson himself has backed proposals, insisting it would be the opportunity to further grow the sport across the world.

Fraser Watson