Jordan Henderson succeeded in escaping Saudi Arabia in just six months. He begins his European life again in Ajax, Netherlands.
“The club has reached an agreement with Henderson. He will move to Amsterdam,” Ajax said on its official website on Wednesday. “He has played for R.T. Park for the past six months, played in 81 matches for the English national team, and recently agreed to terminate his contract with a Saudi Arabian club.” Henderson will play for Ajax for two and a half years until June 30, 2026. His jersey number is 6.
“We wanted an experienced midfielder with leadership skills. We were looking for a player that could be deployed immediately, partly due to the injury to the team, and Henderson was that type of player,” said Ajax manager Jon Pant-Ship. “The recruitment represents a big development for our team. A soccer player of this level, both on and off the field, is important to many prospects for the club.”
“I’m happy to have Henderson here. I think the fact that he is an Ajax player from today will be a very good thing for our club,” he said.
Henderson grew up in the Sunderland youth team and made his debut in the first team in 2008. When he showed the best performance in the team in the 2009-10 season at Sunderland, he made his debut in the match against France after being caught by Fabio Capello, who was leading the England team at the time.
His name was made public in earnest after he joined Liverpool in 2011. Liverpool paid 18 million euros to recruit Henderson. Wearing his jersey number 14, Henderson devoted himself for 12 years before leaving Liverpool last year.
Henderson, who signed a five-year contract with Liverpool in 2015, took over as captain’s armband after the departure of the club’s top legend Steven Gerrard. He worked with manager Jurgen Klopp to rebuild his family and helped many star players adapt by taking the center stage.
Liverpool recovered its competitiveness in the European leagues by reaching the UEFA Champions League final in the 2017-18 season, and won the Champions League title for the first time in 14 years by reaching the final for the second time in a row in the 2018-19 season, beating Tottenham Hotspur. In Henderson’s career, the trophy came seven years after winning the league cup in 2012.
In the 2019-20 season, the team beat Manchester City to win the Premier League title. It was the first Premier League championship in the club’s history, and it was the first major league championship in 30 years. Henderson, who won the FIFA Club World Cup as captain, was named the England Footballer of the Year and Liverpool Player of the Year 마카오토토도메인.
He joined Liverpool at the end of last summer. Henderson, who scored 33 goals and 61 assists in 492 matches for Liverpool, went to Al-Etifak, Saudi Arabia, for a new challenge. He met his old teammate Gerard and played as a key midfielder, but after playing in just 19 matches, he mutually terminated his contract with the club and chose to move to Ajax.
The biggest reason Henderson decided to leave Saudi Arabia after just half a year is believed to be economic problems.
Henderson received 700,000 pounds (about 1.163 billion won) a week due to a sharp increase in his salary when he moved to RET Park. In terms of annual salary, he will earn a whopping 36.4 million pounds (about 60.5 billion won) a year, which is four times the amount of Liverpool.
However, Henderson soon started to complain about pain in his life in Saudi Arabia. Team Talk, a soccer media outlet, reported that Saudi Arabia is paying Henderson only 350,000 pounds, half of the agreed weekly salary, contrary to its promise.
Henderson was also dissatisfied with his life in Saudi Arabia. He was reportedly disappointed with the small crowd in the stadium, raising the possibility of returning to Europe.
“Henderson has left Saudi Arabia and is close to moving to Ajax,” the global sports media The Athletic said recently. “Henderson and Al Etipak terminated their three-year contract they signed when they joined the team last summer, improving the situation so that Henderson can move the team freely without any transfer fee,” adding, “After finishing third in the league last season, which was the lowest in 14 years, we are showing even more dreadful performance this season.”
And finally, with Ajax officially announcing the signing of Henderson at the club level, Henderson will once again continue his football career in Europe.
