Jordan Henderson has joined Al Ettifaq for £13m; midfielder will join up with former Liverpool captain and now head coach Steven Gerrard in Saudi Pro League; Henderson's switch has impact on his career, reputation as an LGBTQ+ ally, and status of league as an emerging market force
Thursday 27 July 2023 19:34, UK
Jordan Henderson's switch to Saudi Arabia has sent shockwaves through football.
It is the most significant transfer to the league since Cristiano Ronaldo's move there last season. Liverpool captain, England international, Champions League winner… he is a high-profile, ground-breaking signing for Al Ettifaq and the Saudi Pro League.
It is also a move which has wide-ranging implications, both for Henderson as a player and also his reputation as someone who has fought for equality, given Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
In sporting terms, it also raises the profile of the Saudi Pro League, adds weight to its legitimacy as an option for leading players and could have a knock-on impact on pay and contract negotiations for Premier League-based players.
Here, we examine the big impact of Henderson's switch to Saudi…
The major talking point about Henderson's move has been around what it means for his reputation as a spokesperson and figurehead on issues of diversity and, in particular, the LGBTQ+ community.
As recently as October 2022, Henderson wrote in the Liverpool programme: "This evening's game takes place against the backdrop of Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign as part of our own Red Together initiative. This is always an occasion that makes me especially proud to be club captain because I could not be stronger in my belief that the values we are celebrating - unity, togetherness, inclusion - could not be more in keeping with those of our club and our city.
"I have regularly worn rainbow laces and today will be no exception because this kind of visible support can only have a positive impact. It also sends the powerful message that football is for everyone and the more of us who can take this message back into our homes, workplaces and daily lives the better.
"The more we can understand, the more we can learn and the more we can stand together on issues like this, the more we will move towards the kind of inclusive society that is more welcoming of everyone.
"Football has its part to play and, as I said, I couldn't be more proud to play a small part of my own."
Those strong words - celebrated at the time - have been used to criticise Henderson for hypocrisy since this transfer became apparent.
Being gay is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Henderson's move has been condemned by Liverpool LGBT+ fan group Kop Outs, who on Wednesday pleaded with the midfielder not to make the move in a tweet: "When @JHenderson met Paul Amann of Kop Outs in August 2021, Jordan said if there's ever anything I can do to help, just ask.
"So the ask is to stand by your words as a professed ally & champion of #LGBT+ rights, of women's rights and of basic human dignity. Don't go to Saudi."
Stonewall, who run the Rainbow Laces campaign, have thanked Henderson for his work in the past - and hope it can continue in the future in Saudi Arabia.
"We are grateful to Jordan Henderson for using his platform to stand up for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports and fitness, including by wearing our Rainbow Laces. In the 10 years since our campaign started, public attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in sport have improved considerably, and this is thanks in no small part to bold allyship from athletes such as Henderson," Robbie de Santos, director of external affairs at Stonewall told Sky Sports.
"We can't deny the reality of lives for the LGBTQ+ community in Saudi Arabia, and we hope that Henderson continues his work to build towards a world where sport is everybody's game"
Meanwhile, Liverpool's avatars on their Twitter and Instagram pages are the club crest on a rainbow flag.
Joe White from 3 Lions Pride, the England fan group, said the move was "deflating" given the support Henderson had shown them and that they had shown him in return.
"Jordan has been so vocal, not just about LGBT rights but human rights generally, he's been very keen to show his allyship towards the LGBT+ community," said White.
"For someone who has made the effort to be that extremely vocal, to meet with us and say how he supports our right to be able to watch football wherever our teams play in a safe environment and not be fearful for our own safety or face discrimination or even arrest, for him to then decide to play in a country that criminalises our existence and outlaws human rights organisations, really jars for people. It feels all of the nice words and effort he made beforehand were just a PR stunt.
"That connection for us, as 3 Lions Pride, we have a banner with his goal celebration on from the game against Ukraine in the Euros where he scored wearing rainbow laces. That has travelled home and abroad following England and cheering him on and that feels deflating now.
"It feels like we've got over-excited for a player doing, frankly, the bare minimum because he's one of the only ones doing that for our right to be included in the sport. And, like David Beckham, at the first chance of a multi-million pound deal he has gone to the highest bidder and it feels he's given up on the legacy that he's created."
Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:
"Amnesty International has been very clear, they say Saudi Arabia has embarked on a programme of sportswashing to try to obscure its extremely poor human rights record. By moving to Saudi Arabia, you can accuse Jordan Henderson of being part of a sportswashing programme.
"I think the bigger thing we have to ask ourselves is, are these footballers actually social activists? Do they believe in the causes that we are led to believe that they feel very strongly about? I have never been convinced.
"For instance I was in Qatar for the World Cup covering the tournament and the England team. I didn't hear anyone from the England squad say anything about human rights in Qatar. I was there when they said they were going to wear the One Love armband. When it became clear that they were going to get a yellow card for wearing the One Love armband, they decided not to wear it. They played against Iran, a country whose regime for 43 years has banned women from attending football games. None of the England players or the FA had anything to say about that.
"Have any footballers ever come out and talked about the way refugees are treated in this country for instance? Or the cost of living crisis? Have any footballers joined Just Stop Oil? No of course they haven't. What they've done is take part in campaigns, which their clubs, leagues or FAs have signed up to.
"At the end of the day Jordan Henderson is a human being, there is no black and white to this. If you are disappointed in what he's done, I totally understand that. But its for him to speak about why he's done that and maybe one day, instead of just releasing a video, he will sit down in front of a journalist who will ask him why he's done that and whether he feels he has betrayed lots of people. Although it probably would have to be outside of Saudi Arabia."
Sky Sports News' Rob Dorsett:
"Jordan Henderson spoke to Gareth Southgate before finally committing to his lucrative transfer to Saudi Arabia, to try to seek reassurance that the move wouldn't affect his England future.
"However, Sky Sports News has been told Southgate could offer the 33-year-old no guarantees about selection. Equally, Henderson learned he won't be immediately overlooked by the England boss, as he considers his squad for the upcoming autumn internationals.
"Henderson took a considerable amount of time to consider his options.
"Those considerations included weighing up how much game-time he would get if he remained at Liverpool, following discussions with Jurgen Klopp, and whether that in itself might impact on his international prospects, if he was regularly on the bench for Premier League matches.
"Henderson has made it clear to Southgate - with whom he has a close relationship - that he has no plans to retire from international football, and that he is still very keen to be involved with England in the remaining Euro qualifiers, and during next summer's finals in Germany.
"His move to the Saudi Pro League nevertheless raises serious question marks over his England future - because the standard of football will mark a significant dip compared to the elite level of the Premier League. Southgate has always told his players that he wants them playing regularly in the biggest games in world football, so that they can experience the pressure, and learn better to cope with the key game-changing moments.
"Without that regular level of football to test and prove himself, how can Henderson convince Southgate he is ready for an England campaign to win next summer's Euros?
"Henderson turned 33 recently, and so knows there might be fewer chances to add to his 77 caps in the final years of his playing career.
"He may have thought exactly that going into the Qatar World Cup, too - but when he started against Wales in the final group game, the special bond Henderson had with Jude Bellingham was a revelation, and Southgate realised he had struck gold - a midfield duo who excelled together, and who were almost telepathic in their understanding.
"Rarely had Liverpool's captain ever looked so vital to England's success. He has started three-quarters of England's games since (missing only the 2-1 win in Italy in March) and has been a key part of the so-far flawless Euro qualifying campaign.
"The first test of Henderson's international pedigree will come in five weeks' time, at the very start of September, when Southgate will name his squad to face Ukraine in Poland, followed by the "friendly" against Scotland."
Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:
"It's bound to have an effect to some extent, but Premier League clubs have financial fair play considerations to take into account. There is no way a player over 30 could dream of earning the kind of money that is on offer to the big-names being targeted by Saudi clubs this summer.
"The money on offer there is also tax-free as long as you become a Saudi resident and stay out of the UK for a whole tax year. At the moment it means anyone leaving the UK would have to stay in Saudi until April 2025.
"The bottom line is that there is big money on offer for a select group of players but the trade-off is that they are moving to a league that was ranked as the 59th-best domestic league in the world in January. The aim is to be one of the top-five leagues in the world as quickly as possible."
Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:
"It looks like there is going to be a big gap in quality between the PIF-owned clubs who are signing the big-name players and the rest of the SPL.
"If Henderson does sign for Al Ettifaq he will be joining a club that finished seventh last season and are not one of the so-called Big Four who are owned by PIF.
"He would have Steven Gerrard as his manager but he wouldn't have the star names in his squad that he would find in other dressing rooms.
"For example, champions Al Ittihad have already signed Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Jota this summer. Henderson would be the biggest name at his club - along with Gerrard - if he moves to Dammam.
"Big names - mostly over 30 - can only do so much to develop football in Saudi and that is why the Ministry of Sport is also focused on developing more young homegrown players through investing in coaching and infrastructure.
"Saudi players showed what they could do when their national team - made up entirely of SPL players - beat eventual champions Argentina in the World Cup in Qatar in November."
