The former Liverpool captain faced boos from England fans following allegations of betraying the LGBTQ+ community.
In response, he stated, “It’s not nice your own fans booing. If people want to boo if I’m playing in a different country, that’s fine.”
“Everyone is going to have an opinion on me playing in Saudi.”
“I’ve spoken in the past about my reasons for that. Whether people believe me or not is up to them.”
“But it won’t change who I am and what I do for this team and for my country. I give absolutely everything, every time.”
England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, criticized the fans for their negative reaction towards Henderson, who had captained the Three Lions in their recent 1-0 friendly victory against Australia at Wembley.
However, in anticipation of the critical Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, Henderson acknowledged, “I have not been surprised (by the reaction from the LGBTQ+ community) because I can understand the reasons in what they’re saying.”
“I look at it from a different point of view, obviously, but I can understand it and I’ve got to take that on the chin.”
At the age of 33, Henderson departed Liverpool for a lucrative £700,000-a-week contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq during the summer.
He had previously been a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in football, which is why many people felt let down by his decision to move to a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Henderson had also expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
With 79 international caps to his name, Henderson added, “Whenever I bump into anyone on the street it’s always been positive stuff, with nice things said.”
“I’m not a politician, I’m not going to get into politics. All I’ve ever done is concentrate on my football and try to help people who have asked for my help.”
“When I’m out there, I’m just playing football, trying to improve the league, trying to improve my own team and win games. It’s the same when I come here.”
Jordan Henderson
Jordan Brian Henderson
EnglandThis season he played in total 8 times for 718 minutes for Pro League.
Jordan Henderson didn’t score any goal for Al Ittifaq. He procured 4 assists. He received 2 yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 7th in Pro League. In the last match Al Ittifaq lost 2-1 against Al Fateh. The next match in Pro League will be against Al Riyadh.
Al Ittifaq performance and stats
Al Ettifaq
Al Ittifaq is currently 7th in the Pro League with 17 points.
In the last 9 games, it has won 5 times, drawn twice, and lost twice. In its last match, Al Ittifaq lost 1-2 against Al Fateh.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 16 goals and conceding 11.
Al Ittifaq will play the next match in Pro League against Al Riyadh on Wednesday 18th of October in Riyadh. The prediction is Al Ittifaq winning the match.
