Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp prior to the Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield, in Liverpool, England, Saturday August 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia came after Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp failed to offer guarantees over playing time, the German coach said Friday.
Henderson, a supporter of the LGBTQ community who was heavily criticized for joining Al-Ettifaq during the transfer window, said in an interview last week that he would have stayed at the Merseyside club if he had felt wanted.
“Hendo said the truth, in all departments, that’s how it was,” Klopp said at a news conference Friday. “If I would have told him ‘Hendo, stay here, you will be the main man in midfield,’ he would have stayed but as much as I wanted him to stay, I couldn’t say that so that’s why it was better that Hendo moved on.
