08 August 2023 , 09:58
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Jordan Henderson’s decision to leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia appears to have shocked his former team-mate Sadio Mane.
Henderson decided to leave the Reds for £13million and sign a three-year contract with Al-Ettifaq – the club managed by another former Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard. The 33-year-old midfielder will earn a whopping £700,000-a-week in the Saudi Pro League, which has attracted a whole host of big-name signings by offering astronomical salaries.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was taken aback by Henderson’s exit, which came out of the blue. His move has also attracted a great deal of criticism from the LGBTQ+ community because Henderson, previously a vocal advocate for equality, has now moved to a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Mane played alongside Henderson at Liverpool for six years, winning the Premier League and Champions League, among other trophies. The Senegal international left Liverpool for Bayern Munich last year and has now moved on again, joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
Mane’s path crossed with Henderson’s at a launch party for the Saudi Pro League, which kicks off on Monday when Al-Ettifaq host Al-Nassr. Their interaction was shared on social media by the league and it showed just how surprising the turn of events which has brought them to the Middle East is.
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The two former Liverpool heroes shared a hug before Mane looked Henderson up and down and said simply: “I can’t believe it.” They then embraced for a second time before exchanging pleasantries by asking how each other were.
Henderson will face Mane on the pitch on Monday in a match that will be broadcast around the world. As reported by Mirror Football, the Saudi Pro League has agreed a UK TV deal with DAZN that will see every game in the upstart competition streamed live.
Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane shared a hug (Twitter / @SPL_EN)Gerrard has handed Henderson the captain’s armband at his new club, who are based in Dammam – a coastal city near Bahrain. He isn’t the only Liverpool player to move to Saudi Arabia, with the Reds also selling Fabinho to Al-Ittihad for £40m.
"Was I surprised when Henderson said he wanted to move on? Of course,” Klopp said. “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."
Ex-Premier League star Thomas Hitzlsperger hit out the midfielder on social media, writing: "So Jordan Henderson finally gets his move to Saudi. Fair play to him, he can play wherever he wants to play. Curious to know though how the new brand JH will look like. The old one is dead! I did believe for a while that his support for the LGBTQ community would be genuine. Silly me…"