Steven Gerrard ‘agrees new two-year contract extension’ to stay at Saudi club Al-Ettifaq – DESPITE his captain Jordan Henderson terminating his deal to move to Ajax and a nine-game winless run

Steven Gerrard has reportedly signed a two-year contract extension with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq.

The former Liverpool captain joined this summer, but Al-Ettifaq are only eighth in the Saudi Pro League despite strong investments.

Gerrard’s position was considered threatened due to a nine-match winless run in which they scored three goals.

His extension comes despite captain and friend Jordan Henderson terminating his contract with the club and reportedly undergoing a medical at Ajax today.

Al-Ettifaq has tied his manager to this new deal until 2027, the newspaper reports The Athletics.

His reign suffered a blow when Jordan Henderson terminated his contract with the club

Gerrard initially rejected the chance to join Al-Ettifaq but changed his mind and signed a deal in July in a dramatic turnaround.

The club recruited Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Demarai Gray, Jack Hendry and Moussa Dembele in a bid to build on their seventh-place finish last season.

Despite an impressive start, with six wins and just one defeat in the first eight games of the season in all competitions, they have since faltered.

Al-Ettifaq have not won a match since October 28 – and that is the only match they have won in their last thirteen matches.

Henderson’s departure will undoubtedly be a blow to the club’s ambitions.

The England midfielder enthusiastically described last summer’s £12million move from Liverpool as a brilliant opportunity to ‘grow the Pro League into one of the best in the world’.

However, the 33-year-old became restless. As well as having to adapt to a different lifestyle, he also struggled with the heat and humidity of playing conditions, while Al Ettifaq’s average attendance this season of 7,800 in a 35,000 capacity stadium proved less than inspiring.

His family lived in the more liberal Bahrain, as opposed to the city of Dammam, where Al-Ettifaq plays.

Some thought Gerrard was under threat after a nine-match winless run despite major investment

Henderson was restless in Saudi Arabia due to a combination of personal factors

The commute to training and home games, across the King Fahd Causeway, took 55 minutes.

Henderson faced criticism and condemnation for moving to Al-Ettifaq, a move that was criticized as a perceived betrayal of the LGBTQ+ community, and which took its toll.

His move will cost him millions in taxes after he opted to relinquish a three-year contract with Al-Ettifaq.

He has represented himself in negotiations with Ajax and is expected to close a deal in the coming days. An agreement has yet to be reached on the length of his contract, but that is not seen as a sticking point.

It is understood that Ajax wants to offer him an eighteen-month contract with the option of a further twelve months, which can be converted into a permanent two-and-a-half-year contract.

The news that Henderson is undergoing his medical treatment comes next the Telegraph reported on Wednesday that the player has not yet received a penny of his eye-watering £350,000-a-week wages at Al-Ettifaq after deferring payments for the past six months.

Worse still, the report suggests that, according to some sources close to the player, there is a belief that Henderson will never get what he is owed.

It is believed that the reason for delaying his wages was for tax reasons, reportedly in part to return to Britain and represent England.

British law states that any person who spends more than 90 days in the country is considered a resident for tax purposes.

Gerrard has also had to deal with the departure of assistant manager Ian Foster to manage Plymouth Argyle

Henderson’s departure is not the only setback Gerrard has faced this month.

Assistant manager Ian Foster resigned in early January to take up the vacant management position at Plymouth Argyle.

Foster moved to Saudi Arabia with Gerrard this summer after leaving his role as head coach of the England under-20s.

Al-Ettifaq’s next match is against Al-Khaleej on February 15, while the Saudi Pro League takes an extended break. So there is time for Gerrard, armed with a new contract, to count his losses and reset.

So far in this transfer window, they have loaned Haroune Camara and Abdulrahman Al-Oboud from last season’s champions Al-Ittihad.