“Money has never been a motivation. Ever.” – Henderson explains move to Al-Ettifaq

Jordan Henderson has spoken to the media for the first time since his move from Liverpool to Al-Ettifaq…

Henderson, the former Liverpool captain, made the move to the Saudi club this summer and has been on the receiving end of a strong back-lash ever since.

Previously a prominent supporter of the LGBTQ+ community as well as the rainbow laces campaign, Henderson’s critics pointed out that his move to Saudi Arabia represented something of a hypocritical stance.

Homosexuality, after all, is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, while the gulf state also stands accused of a host of other abuses including limitations on women’s rights.

Henderson’s critics made the point that the lure of money made him sacrifice the principles he once claimed to have had. In an interview with the Athletic, the 33-year-old addressed the issue.

“People will see this club come with loads of money and (think) he’s just gone, ‘Yeah, I’m going.’

“When in reality that just wasn’t the case at all. People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, when you move, the business deal has to be tight. You have to have financials, you have to feel wanted, you have to feel valued. And money is a part of that. But that wasn’t the sole reason. And these possibilities came up before money was even mentioned.”

Indeed, on that point, Henderson says that the fact he didn’t feel valued at Liverpool played a part in his decision to leave.

“I felt as though my value or the want for me to stay, with the manager and within the club, maybe it had shifted. I knew that time would come at some point. I didn’t think it would be now. And I had to accept that.

“If one of those people said to me, ‘now we want you to stay’, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“And I have to then think about what’s next for me in my career. Now, that’s not to say that they forced me out of the club or they were saying they wanted me to leave but at no point did I feel wanted by the club or anyone to stay.”

Henderson goes onto sing from the same hymn-sheet as the LIV rebels on the golfing scene when he says that, along with his former team-mate and current manager Steven Gerrard, he wants “to build a club and build the league.”

As regards the LGBTQ+ community, Henderson says he was ‘really, really hurt’ by those who have said he turned his back on them.

“I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that. My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone.

“My intention has always been to help causes and communities where I felt like they have asked for my help. Now, when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change.”

Henderson then goes onto contradict the above point, however, by saying, fairly plainly, that he won’t be planning on changing anything as regards Saudia Arabia’s cultures.

“Firstly, I’m not a politician. I never have been and never wanted to be. I have never tried to change laws or rules in England, never mind in a different country where I’m not from.”

On that point, he was asked about the potential of wearing the rainbow laces again.

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