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Jordan Henderson interview on Saudi Arabia: Al-Ettifaq salary, Saudi Pro League, LGBTQ+ beliefs
The former Liverpool captain spoke about his controversial move to the Saudi Pro League in an interview with The Athletic.
For the first time since signing for Al-Ettifaq, Jordan Henderson has spoken about his Liverpool exit, the move to the Saudi Pro League and his stance on LGBTQ+ rights.
In an interview with The Athletic, the England midfielder was pressed on all aspects of the transfer and the backlash that it caused. Henderson was a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ campaigns during his time in the Premier League but shocked many by moving to a country where homosexuality is outlawed.
Over the course of the interview the 33-year-old sought to explain his move to Al-Ettifaq and to address the criticism that he has received.
Here’s what he had to say...
Why did Jordan Henderson Leave Liverpool?
Liverpool had planned for a major midfield reshape over the summer, but the scale of the change surprised many. Along with the likes of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner leaving at the end of their contracts, Henderson and Fabinho were bought by teams in the Saudi Pro League.
In the interview, Henderson admitted that he had not initially planned to leave Anfield this year.
“I went away over the summer and I had an intense period of training to make sure that I was in the best shape possible when I returned to Liverpool,” he said.
But he said that when he returned for pre-season there were “a few things that sent alarm bells ringing” regarding his place in the squad.
“I won’t go into detail about the conversation [with Jurgen Klopp] 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’m at the latter stage of my career and I want to be happy playing football. I want to play,” he added.
What is Jordan Henderson’s salary in the Saudi Pro League?
When Henderson’s Anfield departure was confirmed it was reported that he stood to earn £700,000 ($881,000) per week, roughly four times his Liverpool salary. While he confirmed that he was on “good money” with Al-Ettifaq Henderson claimed that the reported figures were wide of the mark.
“Honestly, the numbers just aren’t true. But again, it had to work out for us financially as well.”
He said that Al-Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard “never mentioned money” in their discussions, claiming that they only spoke about what they could do “to achieve something special and build a club and build the league.”
What did Jordan Henderson say about his LGBTQ+ stance?
Alongside the suggestion that he had gone to Saudi Arabia due to a lucrative contract offer, the main criticism aimed at Henderson was that he had abandoned his principled stance on LGBTQ+ rights to lend legitimacy to a regime that has made homosexuality illegal.
“I can understand the frustration,” Henderson said of criticism from the LGBTQ+ community. “I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that.”
“My values don’t change because I’m going to a different country where the laws of the country might be different,” he added.
He argued that have someone with his “views and values” as a prominent figure in Saudi Arabia would help support the cause.
What did Jordan Henderson say about the rainbow armband?
One of the most contentious parts of Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia came from a social media post from Al-Ettifaq. The video featured a collection of photographs from Henderson’s time with Liverpool, many of which featured him wearing the rainbow armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
In the video, the rainbow armband was ‘greyed out’ to hide the message.
When Henderson was pressed on this he said that he “didn’t know anything about it until it was out” but suggested t
hat he would not wear a rainbow symbol while in Saudi Arabia.
“If I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either. Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture,” he said.