Steven Gerrard has handed Jordan Henderson the captaincy and the No.10 shirt after his transfer to Al-Ettifaq was finalised.
Henderson, 33, completed his controversial £12million switch from Liverpool to the Saudi club on Thursday. The “delighted” England international will play under Gerrard, his former skipper at Anfield, and insists he “can’t wait to get going” in Dammam.
Henderson has faced fierce criticism for agreeing to play in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal. The former Liverpool captain often shown his support to the LGBT community in the past, with many people feeling betrayed by his decision.
It’s believed Henderson, who has signed a three-year contract, will receive a huge £700,000-a-week wage at Al-Ettifaq, which is more than any current Premier League player earns (base salary). It’s unclear if he’ll remain part of the England squad.
Al-Ettifaq confirmed Henderson as their new captain by sharing a video with the caption: “The skipper is ready.” The Saudi club also revealed Henderson’s shirt number by posting a picture of him holding the No.10 jersey on social media.
Henderson wore the No.10 shirt during his final season at Sunderland, his boyhood club. He was handed the No.14 shirt when Liverpool signed him in June 2011 and continued to wear the jersey for the next 12 years, winning eight trophies on Merseyside.
“Delighted to announce I’ve signed for Al-Ettifaq,” said Henderson in a short statement. “New challenge ahead, can’t wait to get going. Welcome to Saudi Arabia.”
Henderson was one of the most vocal allies of the LGBT community. He said in October 2021: “I do believe when you see something that is clearly wrong and makes another human being feel excluded you should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
“You also have a responsibility to educate yourself better around the challenges they experience… The idea that any of them would feel excluded from playing or attending a football match, simply for being and identifying as who they are, blows my mind.
“The idea they’d have to hide from it to be accepted? But that’s exactly how too many members of the LGBT community feel. We know this because they tell us. So we should listen, support them and work to make it better.”
Yet it’s highly unlikely that Henderson will be showing his support for the LGBT community anytime soon. Al-Ettifaq greyed out a picture of Henderson wearing a rainbow armband – the colours of the LGBT community – in a video to unveil the player.
Former Premier League player Thomas Hitzlsperger, who came out as gay in 2014, is among those to criticise Henderson. “So Jordan Henderson finally gets his move to Saudi,” tweeted the Aston Villa icon after the news of Henderson’s transfer broke.
“Fair play to him, he can play wherever he wants to play. Curious to know though how the new brand JH will look like. The old one is dead! I did believe for a while that his support for the LGBTQ community would be genuine. Silly me…”