Jordan Henderson: back from Saudi Arabia, now the new leader at Ajax?

Jordan Henderson, former Liverpool captain and 81-time England international, wanted to achieve something “special” in Saudi Arabia. He spokein early September with the authoritative sports site The Athletic, about building “a club and the league”. He was looking forward to the “project” in a “completely different culture.”

After twelve seasons at Liverpool, the midfielder chose Al-Ettifaq, a club in the Saudi Pro League, last summer. He met former teammates Georginio Wijnaldum and Steven Gerrard, the latter in a role as coach. His transfer fitted in seamlessly with Saudi Arabia’s major football ambitions, at a time when stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema also made the move.

Henderson in particular received a lot of criticism. As one of the few top players, he was an outspoken advocate for the LGBTI community. At Liverpool he played as captain wearing a rainbow band and rainbow laces. And in the run-up to the Football World Cup in Qatar at the end of 2022, he called the human rights violations in the Gulf state “shocking, disappointing and appalling”.

400,000 euros per week

How could that be reconciled with his move to Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is prohibited? “When I hear things like: ‘You turned your back on us’, it hurts me. I really care. I have family and friends in the LGBTI community,” he told The Athletic. According to him, money – with a contract of around 400,000 euros per week – was not the only reason for his switch.

It could not prevent him from being booed by the English crowd during an international match at Wembley in October. Henderson had already expressed his support for Saudi Arabia’s candidacy to host the 2034 World Cup, which will be awarded to the country in the absence of rival candidates.

Six months and nineteen matches later, Henderson is already gone. The project turned out to be a disappointment. Al-Ettifaq is eighth, the level is low, home matches often only attract a few thousand visitors. And although he lived with his family in the more liberal Bahrain – not far from Dammam, where he played – they had difficulty settling in.

Ajax wants him

Several international media reported on Wednesday that his three-year contract with Al-Ettifaq has been terminated. According to the same reports, Ajax will now sign him (transfer-free), discussions about this were held on Wednesday. A move to the Netherlands is fiscally more attractive than a return to England, where he would have to pay millions in income tax retroactively if he did not complete his Saudi contract.

Ajax hopes to bring in a leader with him, something that is currently lacking in the selection. Henderson was one of the undisputed key players at Liverpool in the years that the Champions League (2019) and the Premier League (2020) were won.

The question is whether Henderson, who will turn 34 in June, is the player that Ajax can rely on in the coming years. And whether the people who will be there soon see that role reserved for him. It is still unclear who will be the new technical director – this also applies to the position of coach next season.

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