Jordan Henderson cuts a deal to LEAVE his Saudi club Al-Ettifaq, six months after signing, as he flies home and agrees transfer to struggling Dutch champions Ajax – but faces a £7MILLION tax bill
- Jordan Henderson will leave Al-Ettifaq this month
- The former Liverpool captain signed a £700,000-a-week contract this summer
- CHRIS SUTTON: Don’t wait! Sir Jim Ratcliffe must now fire Erik ten Hag It all starts
Jordan Henderson’s Saudi Arabian adventure comes to an end after just six months, with the former Liverpool captain set to sign for Ajax.
The England international joined Al-Ettifaq for £12 million this summer on a three-year contract worth £700,000 per week but never settled in Saudi Arabia.
According to The Athletic, the 33-year-old is in the process of finalizing his contract termination with Al-Ettifaq, who is managed by his former Anfield teammate Steven Gerrard.
Henderson left the club’s winter training camp in Dubai on Tuesday evening and was due to fly back to Europe after agreeing in principle to a move to Ajax.
The Dutch giants have been working hard to secure a deal for Henderson, with interim coach John van’t Schip confirming their interest following his side’s victory over Go Ahead Eagles on Sunday.
Jordan Henderson is set to leave Al-Ettifaq just six months after joining from Liverpool
“I can confirm that the club and Henderson are in discussions,” said Van ‘t Schip. “He now has to deal with his club.”
Earlier this month, Mail Sport revealed that Henderson wanted to return to Europe after becoming disillusioned with life in Saudi Arabia.
More than once there has been frustration about the facilities offered. The quality of the gym in particular was cited as a sore point, despite Saudi Arabia insisting it had received a significant revamp during a recent international break.
Henderson was criticized for moving to Saudi Arabia, where same-sex sexual activity is illegal, as campaigners felt it contradicted his support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Henderson had expressed support for the rainbow lace campaign and ending LGBTQ+ discrimination in football during his time at Anfield.
In an interview with The Athletics in September he said he understood the anger surrounding his move to Saudi Arabia, but claimed he moved to the country to “grow the sport around the world.”
He said people were aware of his “views and values” and claimed his presence in Saudi Arabia could ultimately be a “positive thing” despite the barrage of criticism coming his way.
‘I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I understand,” Henderson said.
The England international joined Al-Ettifaq in July, where he was reunited with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard
Henderson signed a deal worth £700,000 a week but never settled in Saudi Arabia
‘All I can say about that is that I’m sorry they think that way. It was never my intention to hurt anyone.
“It has always been my intention to help causes and communities that I felt were asking for my help.
‘I think people know what my views and values were before I left, and they still know them now. And I think it can only be a positive thing to have someone with those views and values in Saudi Arabia.”
But despite promising to grow the game in Saudi Arabia, Henderson and his family lived in more liberal Bahrain.
As Mail Sport reported last week, the partner of an English importer, who did not want to be named, was left traumatized after being verbally abused in a shopping center for wearing a vest and shorts, with arms and legs visible.
Although life in the big cities, where most of the stars live, is not much different from some of the more westernized resorts in the Middle East, she quickly returned to Britain.