LGBTQ: Jurgen Klopp refutes Jordan Henderson’s accusation amid Saudi transfer controversy

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Jurgen Klopp, the manager of the Merseyside Reds, refuted Jordan Henderson’s claims that he was not wanted and valued anymore at the club, amid the noise that followed Henderson’s controversial transfer to Al Ettifaq.

Henderson spent a decade and two years playing for Liverpool, before leaving during the Summer Transfer window for a Saudi Arabian club, Al Ettifaq. This action displeased the LGBTQ community in England, to whom Henderson had been a hero.

The player did not belong to the community, but condemned all the segregation they naturally suffered, implying they should be treated with acceptance and equality. Henderson wore a rainbow armband while playing some games, as a symbol of his support to the controversial community.

Jordan Henderson playing for England

LGBTQ groups thought he should have rejected offers from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, because Homosexuality was a crime punishable by death there. Among the things he was accused of by the community was that money was why he closed his eyes and joined the Middle Eastern club.

But Henderson defended himself, saying that Jurgen Klopp showed him signs of rejection.

in Hendo’s ears and mind, he thought I didn’t want him there. If I said Hendo would be the main man for me he would stay but I couldn’t. That’s why it’s better he moved on. Not a bit of bad blood. Captain of best Liverpool team in the Premier League era

– Jurgen Klopp.

‘There were a few things that sent alarm bells ringing,’ Henderson said. ‘I’ve got a very good relationship with Jurgen. He was very honest with me. I won’t go into detail about the conversation because it’s private, but it put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much. I knew there were going to be new players coming in my position.

‘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.’

One of the outcomes of assigning new, young players to old player’s roles is that the senior player spends so much time on the bench that the club starts wondering whether they should be paying him at all. After all that Jordan Henderson had done for the club, it was also likely that Jurgen Klopp found it hard to tell him he was not needed anymore. Whether Klopp wanted him at the club or not, Henderson took the man’s words as leaving much unsaid.

‘Hendo said the truth,’ Klopp recently admitted at a press conference. ‘That’s how it was. We had talks, I told him I wanted him to stay but we talked about maybe not playing regularly.’

‘I cannot tell a player they can have 50 games because I don’t know that,’ said Jurgen Klopp. ‘In our relationship, I thought it was important we speak about ‘what happens if’. Hendo, I love him but he was not great when they didn’t play, [James] Milner and Lucas [Leiva] were the same. So we talk about that now.’

Speaking about the situation of things between him and the Saudi club on LGBTQ matters, Henderson said he was doing great.

‘I think people know what my views and values were before I left and still do now,. And I think having someone with those views and values in Saudi Arabia is only a positive thing. Not once have they said: ‘You can do this, you can’t do this’. And I think it can only be a positive thing to try to open up like around Qatar. In the end, around Qatar, having a World Cup there shined a light on certain issues where I think in the end, I might be wrong, but they changed some rules and regulations to be able to host the World Cup and I think that’s positive. That’s the way you try to create positive change. And I’m not saying that I can do that. I’m one person.’