Jordan Henderson wants to return to England after a brief stint in the Saudi Arabian Pro League. Photo: Getty Images/Yasser Bakhsh
Gloomily, belatedly, Jordan Henderson realizes that all that glitters is not gold. A weekly salary of at least £350,000 loses its luster when you play for Al Ettifaq, when the crowds are so thin they embarrass a League One club. And even the promise of generational wealth fades when the ascetic daily rituals of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, force your family to live abroad in Bahrain.
The former Liverpool captain is also said to be unhappy with the heat. , which suggests that he did not quite finish reading the brochure. It's no surprise that he posted a New Year's message on Instagram from the snow of Val d'Isere.
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There is no violin small enough to play the lament for Henderson's change of heart. In just six months, he prepared an entire guide from scratch on how to ruin a reputation. Rarely has a once admired player been humiliated in such a manner in the apparent pursuit of personal gain. How about how this self-proclaimed LGBT ally went into a mode where his rainbow armband had to be rendered in shades of grey? Or a video of an England stalwart raving about the Saudis' bid to host the 2034 World Cup? These are the reputational scars that no amount of money can heal.
🎥 | In 2017, he wrote: “He said: وسط” was published in 2034. — الشرق الأوسط – رياضة (@aawsat_spt) October 5, 2023 <р>Henderson's damage was caused by himself. For months he had been warned that accepting the Al-Ettifaq check would not only be a one-way ticket to professional oblivion, but would also invalidate all the activist credentials he had worked so hard to polish. Henderson chose his role as an advocate for the gay community carefully. He led the marketing campaign for Liverpool's match programs and also led the Pride Month campaigns. And yet, as soon as the Saudis had the necessary rials, he fled to one of the few countries where homosexuality is still punishable by death.
With some chagrin, Henderson said it was “disappointing” that he was booed at Wembley during England's friendly against Australia last autumn. But this hostility sent a message that no one deserves freedom for disgusting hypocrisy. The midfielder made the situation worse with his plausible justifications for his transfer. He initially said he wanted to be seen as a trailblazer, arguing that having someone with his views playing on Saudi soil “can only be a positive thing.” And in his next breath, he admitted that he would not wear the colors of the rainbow, so as not to offend his owners on religious grounds. So much for his fast-paced moral crusade.
After six months, Henderson is reportedly itching to return home, having made little impact on the Saudi Pro League with either his football or his perceived values. In a way, this dirty little chapter is a warning to anyone who might be inclined to follow the same path of choosing between money and self-respect. It could also be a turning point in the tendency of players past their prime to chase the last prize in the desert sun. Henderson's experience exposes the reality beyond these tear-jerking tests: boredom, lack of satisfaction, endless shame.
He traded the Kop's adoration for the tumbleweeds of the quarter-filled Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium on the Persian Gulf. His potential successors in the Premier League are right to think this trade is not worth considering at any cost. Just look at how much his own manager Steven Gerrard's shares have fallen. At Rangers, Gerrard was portrayed as an exciting young future manager. Today, at just 43, he lives in the wilderness: his Al Ettifaq players have failed to win in two months, and his overlords have tied him up in thoba and ghutrah to promote Saudi Arabia's National Day.
Steven Gerrard appeared in the national costume of Saudi Arabia
It becomes a lonely challenge. Gerrard has just lost his assistant Ian Foster to Plymouth Argyle and now Henderson, his main player, looks set to leave. Suddenly, Saudi Arabia looked less like a land of milk and honey and more like a place where once-prominent careers were withering away. This change highlights the dangers of the entire project. Yes, the Saudis provided invaluable PR when they lured Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema with obscene wealth and Lamborghini excess. But aside from a surge in replica shirt sales, the foundation of the process is fragile. Henderson's abrupt turnaround is an indication that the spell will not wear off for long.
There is a popular belief that Saudi Arabia, having bought the World Cup and a host of superstars on the decline, represents the next frontier in football. But what if this is just the next China? You may remember how, in 2016, the Chinese Super League used seemingly limitless means to persuade everyone from Carlos Tevez to Javier Mascherano, Manuel Pellegrini to Luiz Felipe Scolari, to head east. Eight years later, the only name still standing is Oscar, who once played for Chelsea. At 25, the Brazilian has swapped global fame for lucrative obscurity. And he never played for his country again. Let this serve as a lesson to Henderson. He imagined he could have it all: fortune, image, a place in the England squad for the Euros. And now all this has been exposed as the most extravagant delusion.
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