Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp and LGBT+ community react to Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is the latest big name to make the move to the Saudi Pro League after the Premier League club confirmed that the midfielder had signed for Al Ettifaq, now coached by Reds legend Steven Gerrard, for a fee of £12 million ($15.55 million) plus add-ons.

The 33-year-old spent 12 years at Anfield after joining from hometown club Sunderland, making 492 appearances, scoring 33 goals and winning seven major trophies on Merseyside. Only Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have played more Premier Leagues games for the club.

LGBT+ community betrayed by Henderson move to Saudi Arabia

While Henderson isn’t the first and won’t be the last to switch from Europe to the Saudi Pro League, his decision to move to the Gulf state has been widely criticised by the LGBT+ community online, who he has spoken out in support of in the past.

“I do believe when you see something that is clearly wrong and makes another human being feel excluded you should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. You also have a responsibility to educate yourself better around the challenges they experience”, Henderson said in a lengthy statement to support the Rainbow Laces campaign in 2021.

Homosexuality in Saudi Arabia is illegal and can be punished by life imprisonment, deportation, torture and even the death penalty.

Klopp: Henderson’s Liverpool departure “strange”

In soccer terms, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has also spoken about his captain’s “strange” departure and paid tribute to Henderson “as a man and as a player”.

“It is football, it is life, it is normal, these kind of things happen. Monday when we arrived back in Liverpool, Hendo was waiting for us to say goodbye properly to the team and to the coaching staff as well, so that was a really nice gesture - a really nice thing to do.

“I know it was a really, really tough decision for Hendo and I was around or with him all the way. It’s sad, absolutely strange, because he is the only captain I had here at Liverpool, but I think it is exciting for him as well. We will miss him, without a shadow of a doubt, that’s clear - as a man and as a player”.

Henderson’s Premier League longevity

Analytics company Opta have revealed that Henderson had made more appearances, played more successful passes and won possession back more times than anyone else in the Premier League since the start of the 2009/10 season, epitomising his longevity.