Jordan Henderson was rejected by Sir Alex Ferguson but ‘completed the set’ before heading for Saudi Arabia riches
Not much is left from Liverpool’s relatively terrible pre-Jurgen Klopp period, and Jordan Henderson has now made it a distant memory.
The last remnant in the squad from the Brendan Rodgers and Sir Kenny Dalglish periods, Henderson spanned three managers and 117 different teammates, only to leave early at the age of 33.
In a now rather awkwardly-named club documentary ‘Jordan Henderson is Never Done’ the midfielder’s teammates and manager praised the leadership of a captain that won it all.
Now though, thanks to the riches of Saudi Arabia and Al Ettifaq FC, Henderson is done far earlier than expected, stepping away from top level football at a club he helped return there.
Arriving in 2011 from boyhood side Sunderland, Henderson showed plenty of grit as an energetic right winger doing laps up and down the wing, but not much more. Eventually, he matured into the spirit of Klopp’s Liverpool team
His pathway was never straightforward, though, having to grow up in the shadow of Reds legend Steven Gerrard – who will be his new manager in the Middle East – and taking his captain's armband in 2015.
He eventually did what Gerrard never could and lifted the Premier League title in 2020, a year on from taking the Champions League and sobbing uncontrollably at the scale of the achievement in Madrid.
A tattoo of the European Cup accompanied his success, as did the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, and in 2021/22 he completed the set.
Winning the FA Cup against Chelsea, Henderson lifted all seven trophies on offer as Reds captain, and forever cemented his name in not just Liverpool’s, but football’s history books.
And that all came despite an unusual running style putting a black mark next to his name for Sir Alex Ferguson.
The legendary
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