Jordan Henderson has done it all at Liverpool. Premier League, tick. Champions League, tick. Now it is time for new challenges. And big pay cheques.
The England midfielder is heading to Saudi club Al-Ettifaq for a reported salary of US $900,000 a week. He will join a familiar face at the club. Steven Gerrard is going to be the team’s manager.
"Liverpool Football Club can confirm Jordan Henderson has completed a transfer to Al-Ettifaq," the team said in a statement. “The move to the Saudi Pro League side sees the midfielder bring an end to his 12-year Reds career, during which he lifted eight trophies, all but one of which as club captain."
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The Saudi League is picking several cherries from the football firmament, in a bid to raise the profile of Saudi football. In December, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr. Since then Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino have signed up. There is no confirmation yet on Kylian Mbappe but he too has been approached by Al-Hilal with an eye-popping offer of $300 million.
There is nothing Henderson has not won at Liverpool. Right up there are the 2019 Champions League and the 2020 Premier League. While he still has two years on his contract, manager Jurgen Klopp is reorganizing his midfield.
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In a video message, Klopp was gracious towards Henderson. "We will miss you, you know that. You will miss us, I know that. But it's life, and it's not forever. It's just a goodbye," he said.
It’s a time of exits and new entries at Liverpool. James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have departed. Fabio Carvalho has joined Leipzig on a season-long loan.
Coming in are Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. The arrival of a new midfielder is also on the horizon.
Klopp is overhauling his midfield because last season was disappointing for the great club. For the first time in seven years, they missed out on the Champions League and did not win a single trophy.
