Jordan Henderson is poised to join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq after Liverpool agreed a fee in principle of £12m plus add-ons for their captain with the Saudi Pro League club.
Henderson was omitted from Liverpool’s first friendly of pre-season on Wednesday, against Karlsruher SC in Germany, after a breakthrough in negotiations. The 33‑year‑old midfielder agreed a contract with Al‑Ettifaq last week and could undergo a medical within days. He will sign a two‑year contract with the option of a third on wages that will dwarf his current £200,000 a week at Liverpool.
Liverpool and Al-Ettifaq, managed by the Anfield legend Gerrard, reached a compromise over the structure of the fee for a player who has two years on his contract.
Henderson was initially reluctant to relocate with his family to Saudi Arabia but Al-Ettifaq’s offer prompted a rethink. He also held talks over his first-team prospects with Jürgen Klopp before deciding in principle to end his 12-year stay on Merseyside.
Liverpool have signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for £35m and £60m respectively and Klopp was in the market for another midfielder even before Saudi Arabian interest in Henderson and Fabinho disrupted his pre-season plans.
Liverpool remain in talks with Al-Ittihad over Fabinho’s exit. Al-Ittihad, unlike Al-Ettifaq, are one of the four Saudi Arabian clubs owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund. The Brazil international is expected to leave for about £40m. Two other Liverpool players, Luis Díaz and Thiago Alcântara, are attracting interest from the Saudi Pro League but the club is expected to resist any advances for the Colombia international.
Klopp said about both deals: “As long as things are not really finally decided, we don’t have to talk about it. There will be a moment where we probably have to talk about it, but it’s not now. I don’t know that anything is decided, which means nothing to say in the moment. In the end, all of these decisions are made by me. And because I respect the players a lot, it’s usually with consent. It was in this case and it is all fine.”
The prospect of Henderson moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal has been condemned by Liverpool’s official LGBT+ fans group, Kop Outs. Henderson has been a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ+ community as Liverpool captain – being nominated as “Football Ally” at the LGBT+ Awards in 2021 – and has written in his programme notes about standing “shoulder-to-shoulder” with anyone who feels excluded.
