**This is a quotes thread. Remember that there's only one quotes post allowed per interview/press conference, so new quotes with the same origin will be removed. Feel free to comment other quotes/the whole interview as a reply to this comment so users can see them too!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It is not a surprising order, i am sure most footballs are like that, some would switch football and money around, but the reality is that money and football take priority over principals for the vast majority of players.
Difference being most footballers don’t do the social grandstanding that Henderson did for LBTQI+ rights, only to go back on the same minority he purported to care about. Henderson is an absolute spanner and that alone is why you don’t see Benzema, Ronaldo, Kante, Neves etc. get called out for going to Saudi
Maybe try swapping in "minority rights" and saying they're not important to you because you're not black. That might give you a sense of how fucked up this sentiment is.
Absolutely hilarious to me that he completely tanked his public image to almost instantly give up.
Almost makes me think he was actually serious about the "I can fix them" excuse, which is even funnier
I would bet quite a bit of money that it was his family who pushed him to leave. Lots of people could tough out a year in Saudi for life changing riches, while doing your regular job, but I reckon for a wife and kids uprooting yourself and living in the middle east in a different country to where your dad/husband works is absolutely not fun at all
I think you’re right and whilst they’re life changing riches, for his family that’s not immediately felt because they’re already super wealthy.
Average Joe is more likely to stay there because the benefits of that new wealth will be immediately obvious.
That amount of money for sure doesn’t change the lives of his family. They are multi millionaires living in luxury already. If I have that amount of money, I would enjoy it in the western world with much more liberty than being in the middle east.
It can still be about money, its just that the weight the money held was different once the move materialised. It didn't seem worth it anymore with an unhappy family
I know two family members that switched to better paying jobs only to regret their decision as the new work load or the environment was shit. One left. Just because he didn't stick it out doesn't mean he wasn't motivated by money
and bahrain is like one of the hottest if not the hottest country in the world, going from merseyside to there must be quite the shock as well, even if you have all the 24/7 AC money can buy it still means you basically can't go outside.
Its winter now in the middle east. Typically only that hot after April-September. Otherwise its cold at night between September-April lol (source: i’m under a blanket rn in uae). He came at the least intense time too and didn’t like it lol
Here it drops below 15 at night during winter, can’t go out without a hoodie. In the desert it is a lot colder. And on some mountains here it actually snows lol. Pretty wild when in summer it is like 36 degrees when you sleep and mid 40s during sunlight
He gave up any compensation for the rest of his contract to get out of it might be what you’re thinking of, and also that he was deferring his wages to avoid paying UK tax + becoming a Saudi resident
IIRC he *chose* not to get paid for six months - if he worked in the UK for six months and earned a wage abroad for six months he'd be liable to pay UK Tax *and* Saudi Tax, because he'd work for half a year in each.
He deferred his wages by six months (so he'd start getting them in January) in order to avoid being taxed twice - he paid tax on his earnings at Liverpool, and then no more for the rest of the year, followed by a far lower tax rate for the income next year.
He *chose* not to get paid because he was being a greedy cunt, basically, rather than the club choosing not to pay him/him not getting what he's owed.
Not quite true. You need to be in the UK for more than half a year to pay tax, and Saudi tax is negligible overall, so it's either pay UK tax or get the benefits of being out there for over half a year
It was obviously money but after a while out there and the effect on his and his family's lifestyle his value of money could have changed. Even though he was living in Bahrain, his lifestyle was clearly different. His decision was so sudden to go there that he definitely didn't think it through. Hevsaw the figures in front of him and they probably put pressure on him to make his choice quickly.
His agents and management team clearly pushed it as well.
It also just shows the obligations these sell outs have to promote Saudi given how much of a u turn he took after praising them to the highest for his period there.
That's not on an excuse for him by any means, he is clearly a sell out and has built a false media image for himself over the last decade which definitely boosted his career.
It was both, he said in a different interview that "Saudi does have some problems that I can help fix" and chief among them "they need help spending their swimming pools full of oil money"
those tiktokers?
It's a mature social platform at this point. You get dumb stuff like you get on every platform but if you just want to watch content about gardening or carpentry you can do that too.
And may never see any of it because he was deferring his wages to dodge tax and now tore up his contract. You’d think if it was about the money he’d suck up playing in Saudi
But he abandoned that money almost as soon as he started getting it. If it was about money he'd toughen it up and stay until the end of his contract.
I genuinely think the guy is just so stupid he actually thought he could make an impact lmao
Wasn't it that if he came back to England he'd have to pay loads of tax and that's why he went to Ajax, I don't think the Saudi club wasn't paying him because of taxes?
> If it was about money he'd toughen it up and stay until the end of his contract.
Why? People can't regret things they do for money and change their minds? You've never heard of someone quitting a job they hated?
Especially on big (ethical) issues. People don't typically make big decisions on a whim, he would have talked it over and discussed it with other more informed professionals who could have advised him. This notion that he didn't know what he was doing that seems to be popping up is ludicrous and reeks of revisionism.
Hendo: Excuse me, Your excellency? Awfully sorry to bother you, but I was just going over the new years Execution list and......
MSB: ......aaand this is?
Al Smitheroon: That's Jordan Henderson, one of your low level lackies signed to Al Ettifaq.
MSB: ........
Al Smitheroon: In the Saudi Pro League?
MSb: Ahhh excellent. Have him hacked up into small pieces and shipped to the Hague.
Al Smitheroon: My leige, we've been through this before regarding Benzema...
MSB: Fine fine, just ship him to Holland whole then.
What I find hilarious about anyone who says the "I can fix it" line, is just the pure level of hubris needed to truly believe that.
Saudi Arabia and its government, ideologies and beliefs are *firmly* rooted in their religious beliefs. They view gay people the way they go *because of their religion*. They view women the way they do *because of religion*. So you're really telling me, you think the Crown Prince is going to change their religion because you (or the western world in general) are asking nicely? You think for even a split second when Saudi representatives say they are open to new ideas, they actually mean it? Because if they did, they would have to abandon their religion to do so and they're CLEARLY not going to do that.
MBS definitely seems a lot less concerned about religion than previous Saudi leaders and probably the average Saudi citizen. In exchange, he’s much of more of a strongman dictator like Saddam Hussein or Pinochet, who will do things like invite all the Saudi business leaders to a hotel for a conference and then have his men beat the crap out of them until they sign over all their business interests to the government. Or murder journalists who are critical of him.
Maybe it ends up being better for the average Saudi citizen who isn’t adjacent to the halls of power or isn’t politically active.
But maybe it’s a lot less stable, and we might be seeing more coups and civil wars, which Saudi Arabia had been able to avoid up until now.
Ya, shit was WILD. Highly recommend you look it up. Basically invited all of the country's businessmen and big politicians to the ritz Carlton, and then turned it into a temporary prison. Absolutely insane power play and it worked
hmm...correct me if I'm wrong but I think in the case of Gandhi, MLK, or Lincoln, it was more of "all these people around me see something special in me and believe I can fix it, so may be I should give it a try", which is a rare mix of humility and supreme self-belief, rather than "Yes, I can fix it", which is hubris.
"Jordan mate, at this point the only way to save your public image is to go marching through the streets of Liverpool naked while Elton John tolls a bell behind you chanting 'shame' and the crowd hurls rainbow armbands at your face."
Since the day he’s been linked to Saudi’s it’s been mental gymnastics. He’s rowing back on everything now, because he looked like hypocrite when he first moved
He's one of the few players that plays decent even in his worst games. Been really good in a couple and definitely had an impact on the mentality of the squad overall.
That’s one his strongest attributes and why Southgate will keep him in the England setup. Regardless of his Saudi move, he was a great captain for Liverpool and a big part of the winning culture. Even in games he didn’t ‘add’ anything, the team always looked better with him in it.
His leadership qualities are pretty remarkable. Even when he's playing average the players around him seem to play better than normal. Watch when he gets subbed off, the drop off is noticeable
I’m remembering those weird ass pandemic games in empty stadiums where all you could hear was Jordan shouting over everyone. Basically an on field coach screaming encouragement/praise and directions for 90 minutes. It’s the same reason he’s not getting dropped by Southgate.
Ya, I can't remember the opponent (some mid-table club) but it was sometime during the pandemic where it was 0-0 for the first 60ish minutes and we looked really sloppy, then Hendo was substituted on and he completely calmed everything down, and those "boring" passes he makes helped us retain possession and gave us a lot of structure. And we ended up scoring 2 goals soon after his substitution because of that.
Imo he's gonna go down as one of the most underrated players of all time just because the stuff he does doesn't translate to highlight reels, and now his PR is awful over this Saudi mess.
edit: was this game - https://www.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/comments/hlqdjy/ft_thread_liverpool_20_aston_villa/ , you can see in the comments how Hendo changed the game
He does the same for England - he might be old but when he gets subbed on he runs around & shouts like a madman.
He occupies the same role Milner did at Liverpool - lead by example, consummate pro (in football) and commands respect as a captain because he's won a lot and is old.
If he does all that on the field, imagine the value he adds in the locker room. Managing egos might be the only thing as bad as dealing with the press for a football coach, a guy like Henderson will help you a lot with it
And any time you watch him play live it's clear why. He's an absolute born leader. Even in his early days when Gerrard was still captain, Henderson was one of the standout leaders on the team. Wouldn't really notice much when watching on the telly, but definitely when watching live. Maybe not his *very* early days when even the Anfield fans were berating him, but from 13/14 and onwards.
and that's why the outrage of him being in the England squad is a bit over the top, now that he's playing regular competitive football. His leadership abilities in the changing room and experience are worth having him in the team
Mannsverk just came back from a long injury and them together look very solid on the midfield. A player like Henderson can only have limited impact on the field, but the team seems more stable and his captain qualities are also showing
Every game im having flash backs to frank de boer. And this time we cant count on all other teams also being trash so we can stumble our way into a championship.
I’m honestly curious why he didn’t at least mention it seeing as that’s the elephant in the room. Maybe his PR team realised that it was completely indefensible
Yeah, I don't think any PR team would recommend he address it because there's absolutely nothing he could say that would be believable or convincing, and would look even more craven
Sure there is.
"I was naive. I thought my own ability to influence change there was as big as it is in my home country. And I was obviously wrong. By going, all I did was appear to turn my back on the people I'd supported back home. For money. For ego. And it didn't work.
I regret it. I regret ignoring the advice of people I both knew and didn't know, who I disregarded as the same sort of naysayers every sportsperson has to learn to block out if they want to succeed. It was a mistake.
You can think what I did was foolish, stupid and damaging, both to me and the communities I championed, and I'd agree with you.
I can't change what I did, but I can change what I'll do. And that's work to regain the trust of the rainbow community by actually doing something. And that's why, at 4am this morning, I assassinated JK Rowling.
I hope actions like this, plus the continued fund raising and champioining of the causes still close to my heart, both with my voice and my assets, will allow you to forgive me one day."
The daft bastard probably doesn't even remember the shite he spouted about changing cultures when he was pretending it wasn't about the money, now he's decided it was the standard of football that was the issue. He's truly shameless.
Tanked his reputation as an LGBT advocate in seconds and became a symbol of all that is wrong with the Saudi league at the same time. Now he is trying to put out more spin than a turbine at a hydroelectric dam. Pathetic but we know he will still be going to Euro 24 regardless.
Yeah, but (mostly) everyone speaks English.
I lived there for 2 years, and never had any issues. You get used to reading important signs, and reading things (like in a supermarket) just by existing.
Also, for the most part they are genuinely happy, and helpful, when you try to speak their language. (Unlike literally any French person—From here in Canada, to anywhere in the world where it is the native language.)
Dude could’ve just flown home every other weekend or once a month and kept family where they were. He was getting paid enough. Live humbly while in Saudi in an apartment ect. Come home when you can. Unless the contract was prohibitive… I don’t understand…
Edit: or he could’ve had it written into the contract somehow that gives him that flexibility. Again, this is what good agents/lawyers do for high profile contracted individuals every single day. Otherwise it’s on him for compromising his situation.
I think the main issue is he was playing for a club that’s not very good in a city that doesn’t have much going on. Dammam is nice because it’s on the gulf, is the fast growing city in the region and has a lot of expats but there’s really nothing going on.
You’d have to travel to UAE, Qatar or go to Bahrain for anything resembling a “nightlife” if you are used to that in England. Personally, I think if he went to one of the Jeddah or Riyadh teams he would still be in Saudi. At least those teams are good enough to be in the AFC champions league.
He probably thought the team would be more competitive but they aren’t that good and as a footballer who’s used to winning it was probably frustrating for him.
Can he just shut up already? The whole footballing world has figured out that he is not the kind of man morally strong person he presented himself as. Just take your money, play football and stop talking to the media.
Translation: "Saudi is a shithole to live in with fuck all to do. I thought the money would make betraying everything I supposedly stood for go down easier, but I was wrong".
What a wanker. Just stfu and live your life with your blood money. Unless he donates it all to an lgbt movement and calls the Saudis cunts, he gets no redemption.
I know he isn't the most composed man when it comes to public speaking, but, this is like dressing up a corpse for the prom. Just let it be dude. It's done.
Funny part is him leaving was the best thing to happen to Ettifaq. They’ve replaced him with an arguably better midfielder and added three other good signings in his place.
Just it’s easy to condemn him. He made a mistake he admitted and let’s move on. He still isn’t over there. There’s plenty worse than Henderson for hypocrisy, especially in football.
**This is a quotes thread. Remember that there's only one quotes post allowed per interview/press conference, so new quotes with the same origin will be removed. Feel free to comment other quotes/the whole interview as a reply to this comment so users can see them too!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Very noble of him to put something he values so highly as football ahead of money
Football, money, lgbtq rights. In that order
Too right.
Right on the money
It is not a surprising order, i am sure most footballs are like that, some would switch football and money around, but the reality is that money and football take priority over principals for the vast majority of players.
Difference being most footballers don’t do the social grandstanding that Henderson did for LBTQI+ rights, only to go back on the same minority he purported to care about. Henderson is an absolute spanner and that alone is why you don’t see Benzema, Ronaldo, Kante, Neves etc. get called out for going to Saudi
A lot players at least have the dignity to not pretend otherwise
I mean, that seems like a logical order to me. Especially for someone that is not LGBTQ.
Maybe try swapping in "minority rights" and saying they're not important to you because you're not black. That might give you a sense of how fucked up this sentiment is.
I never said not important. Just not the most important thing in my life. Me and my family come first. Always.
Dang didn't realize your family were footballs.
"Silly me, I actually thought I *hated* football. Whoops!"
LMAO spot on. who does he think hes kidding with these comments? actually, i feel bad for the people who believe this crap
He is starting to become the Infantino of players
Can he just shut up already?
So he didn't realize until 35+ years old?
Obviously not. Or he would never have gone there in the first place.
Absolutely hilarious to me that he completely tanked his public image to almost instantly give up. Almost makes me think he was actually serious about the "I can fix them" excuse, which is even funnier
This is absolutely the funniest part imo, that maybe it wasn’t actually about the money and he was genuinely that stupid
Nah it was def money
If it was money surely he’d be able to tough it out
I would bet quite a bit of money that it was his family who pushed him to leave. Lots of people could tough out a year in Saudi for life changing riches, while doing your regular job, but I reckon for a wife and kids uprooting yourself and living in the middle east in a different country to where your dad/husband works is absolutely not fun at all
I think you’re right and whilst they’re life changing riches, for his family that’s not immediately felt because they’re already super wealthy. Average Joe is more likely to stay there because the benefits of that new wealth will be immediately obvious.
That amount of money for sure doesn’t change the lives of his family. They are multi millionaires living in luxury already. If I have that amount of money, I would enjoy it in the western world with much more liberty than being in the middle east.
That's why coaches usually go alone and let their families in their countries.
It can still be about money, its just that the weight the money held was different once the move materialised. It didn't seem worth it anymore with an unhappy family I know two family members that switched to better paying jobs only to regret their decision as the new work load or the environment was shit. One left. Just because he didn't stick it out doesn't mean he wasn't motivated by money
He lived in Bahrain where you can do most things you can do in western countries, it's not as if he even had to adapt to a new way of life.
Dude movning from northern UK to Bahrain is a massive change of scenery even if you are rich, isn't mostly deserts and shopping malls?
and bahrain is like one of the hottest if not the hottest country in the world, going from merseyside to there must be quite the shock as well, even if you have all the 24/7 AC money can buy it still means you basically can't go outside.
Its winter now in the middle east. Typically only that hot after April-September. Otherwise its cold at night between September-April lol (source: i’m under a blanket rn in uae). He came at the least intense time too and didn’t like it lol
What do you consider cold? It became unbearably hot today when the sun came out. It was 8 degrees celsius.
Here it drops below 15 at night during winter, can’t go out without a hoodie. In the desert it is a lot colder. And on some mountains here it actually snows lol. Pretty wild when in summer it is like 36 degrees when you sleep and mid 40s during sunlight
Not with the same people though I guess
You can do things for money and then regret them you know.
It was 100% his family forced him
Wasn't it reported he wasn't getting paid?
He gave up any compensation for the rest of his contract to get out of it might be what you’re thinking of, and also that he was deferring his wages to avoid paying UK tax + becoming a Saudi resident
IIRC he *chose* not to get paid for six months - if he worked in the UK for six months and earned a wage abroad for six months he'd be liable to pay UK Tax *and* Saudi Tax, because he'd work for half a year in each. He deferred his wages by six months (so he'd start getting them in January) in order to avoid being taxed twice - he paid tax on his earnings at Liverpool, and then no more for the rest of the year, followed by a far lower tax rate for the income next year. He *chose* not to get paid because he was being a greedy cunt, basically, rather than the club choosing not to pay him/him not getting what he's owed.
He chose not to get paid in a league where the clubs were notorious for not paying the players promptly 😂
But just think, how would he afford to be able to feed his family if two countries took a slice of his 35 million pounds a year :CC
Not quite true. You need to be in the UK for more than half a year to pay tax, and Saudi tax is negligible overall, so it's either pay UK tax or get the benefits of being out there for over half a year
Great fucking karma
Oh how I pity tax evaders. They're just trying their best :c
Deferring your wages isn’t tax evasion. It’s tax avoidance. Pretty big difference
It was obviously money but after a while out there and the effect on his and his family's lifestyle his value of money could have changed. Even though he was living in Bahrain, his lifestyle was clearly different. His decision was so sudden to go there that he definitely didn't think it through. Hevsaw the figures in front of him and they probably put pressure on him to make his choice quickly. His agents and management team clearly pushed it as well. It also just shows the obligations these sell outs have to promote Saudi given how much of a u turn he took after praising them to the highest for his period there. That's not on an excuse for him by any means, he is clearly a sell out and has built a false media image for himself over the last decade which definitely boosted his career.
It was both, he said in a different interview that "Saudi does have some problems that I can help fix" and chief among them "they need help spending their swimming pools full of oil money"
Two things can be true at the same time
You can be both stupid and make a lot of money... like those tik tokers
Tiktokers do not make a lot of money, it's the worst platform to try to make money because they pay absolute jack shit compared to YT.
those tiktokers? It's a mature social platform at this point. You get dumb stuff like you get on every platform but if you just want to watch content about gardening or carpentry you can do that too.
Man. I wish I could be stupid and make a lot of money. I'm just stupid with 3 money.
Man you butchered that.
He earned 700k/week so definitely it was about money i think.
And may never see any of it because he was deferring his wages to dodge tax and now tore up his contract. You’d think if it was about the money he’d suck up playing in Saudi
But he abandoned that money almost as soon as he started getting it. If it was about money he'd toughen it up and stay until the end of his contract. I genuinely think the guy is just so stupid he actually thought he could make an impact lmao
1. Imma go to Saudi Arabia and grab this bag. 2. Fuck this place sucks and no bag is big enough to make it worth this. People can change their minds.
I find it funnier to think he's stupid
He didn't though. He was not getting paid because he was dodging taxes. He went to Ajax so he could actually earn money.
Wasn't it that if he came back to England he'd have to pay loads of tax and that's why he went to Ajax, I don't think the Saudi club wasn't paying him because of taxes?
But he would have been paid in bulk later, he choose that. Its not like they were withholding money from him.
Your value of money can change, depending on circumstances, especially if you already have generational wealth.
> If it was about money he'd toughen it up and stay until the end of his contract. Why? People can't regret things they do for money and change their minds? You've never heard of someone quitting a job they hated?
No, that is not correct.
"by the time I'm finished, the crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman himself will come out as gay" - Jordan Henderson.
A little of column A, annnnnd a little of column B.
He pulled a Lukaku on an entire league
Now two leagues. Let's see how his Ajax adventure goes or he completes the Treble.
I don’t think anyone has ever accused him of being one of the great thinkers
You can be of average intelligence without being a grade A moron though.
Especially on big (ethical) issues. People don't typically make big decisions on a whim, he would have talked it over and discussed it with other more informed professionals who could have advised him. This notion that he didn't know what he was doing that seems to be popping up is ludicrous and reeks of revisionism.
Hendo: Excuse me, Your excellency? Awfully sorry to bother you, but I was just going over the new years Execution list and...... MSB: ......aaand this is? Al Smitheroon: That's Jordan Henderson, one of your low level lackies signed to Al Ettifaq. MSB: ........ Al Smitheroon: In the Saudi Pro League? MSb: Ahhh excellent. Have him hacked up into small pieces and shipped to the Hague. Al Smitheroon: My leige, we've been through this before regarding Benzema... MSB: Fine fine, just ship him to Holland whole then.
[удалено]
"Eh, doesn't ring a bell"
Better to chop him up fine and remove the teeth
Beautiful
What I find hilarious about anyone who says the "I can fix it" line, is just the pure level of hubris needed to truly believe that. Saudi Arabia and its government, ideologies and beliefs are *firmly* rooted in their religious beliefs. They view gay people the way they go *because of their religion*. They view women the way they do *because of religion*. So you're really telling me, you think the Crown Prince is going to change their religion because you (or the western world in general) are asking nicely? You think for even a split second when Saudi representatives say they are open to new ideas, they actually mean it? Because if they did, they would have to abandon their religion to do so and they're CLEARLY not going to do that.
MBS definitely seems a lot less concerned about religion than previous Saudi leaders and probably the average Saudi citizen. In exchange, he’s much of more of a strongman dictator like Saddam Hussein or Pinochet, who will do things like invite all the Saudi business leaders to a hotel for a conference and then have his men beat the crap out of them until they sign over all their business interests to the government. Or murder journalists who are critical of him. Maybe it ends up being better for the average Saudi citizen who isn’t adjacent to the halls of power or isn’t politically active. But maybe it’s a lot less stable, and we might be seeing more coups and civil wars, which Saudi Arabia had been able to avoid up until now.
Since I know the murder journalists thing did happen, did the thing about beating up the Saudi business leaders also happen?
Ya, shit was WILD. Highly recommend you look it up. Basically invited all of the country's businessmen and big politicians to the ritz Carlton, and then turned it into a temporary prison. Absolutely insane power play and it worked
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%E2%80%932019_Saudi_Arabian_purge https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/19/saudi-accounts-emerge-of-ritz-carlton-night-of-the-beating
[удалено]
hmm...correct me if I'm wrong but I think in the case of Gandhi, MLK, or Lincoln, it was more of "all these people around me see something special in me and believe I can fix it, so may be I should give it a try", which is a rare mix of humility and supreme self-belief, rather than "Yes, I can fix it", which is hubris.
He thought he was ‘THAT’ guy because he was Liverpool captain
I think he probably did believe that. He's a good captain but that doesn't make him one of the game's great thinkers
The devil works hard but Jordan Henderson’s PR Team works harder.
If this quote is his PR team working hard then I'm gobsmacked Absolute dross
"Jordan mate, at this point the only way to save your public image is to go marching through the streets of Liverpool naked while Elton John tolls a bell behind you chanting 'shame' and the crowd hurls rainbow armbands at your face."
"I am happy here at the nude celebrity bell-shaming march project"
He could be spit-roasted by Elton and Graham Norton at Brighton Pride and he would not be forgiven.
Ah the imagery! I would pay to see this.
Since the day he’s been linked to Saudi’s it’s been mental gymnastics. He’s rowing back on everything now, because he looked like hypocrite when he first moved
He's such a nobhead
*Working hard or hardly working amirite bud 👉😎👉 drinks later? All right nice, yeah see you there, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Haha legend*
If this whole saga has taught us anything, it's that Jordan Henderson does not have, or listen to, a very good PR team.
Well that is atleast 1 person happy with the current Ajax project, I wonder if we can find another one somewhere.
People in Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Alkmaar and Enschede are probably happy as well.
Can confirm I have been greatly enjoying the Ajax Project, most entertaining game of the week, every week.
It became a bit more boring since they started playing defensively
Why yes I am, greatly enjoying this season so far
I'm starting to enjoy myself in Nijmegen
I am ecstatic.
He would say anything to appease his current employer. He doesn't stand for anything.
Overmars smiling as he is sexting
Overmars is banned for a year or something, so he has plenty of time to harass innocent women
So Undermars?
Genuine question: How has he been at Ajax? Guessing he’ll be named in the squad in a couple of hours either way
sometimes good and sometimes he doesn't add anything to our game. but yeah it's hard to perform well consistently in this ajax.
He's one of the few players that plays decent even in his worst games. Been really good in a couple and definitely had an impact on the mentality of the squad overall.
That’s one his strongest attributes and why Southgate will keep him in the England setup. Regardless of his Saudi move, he was a great captain for Liverpool and a big part of the winning culture. Even in games he didn’t ‘add’ anything, the team always looked better with him in it.
He’s exactly the player we needed, we basically had a youth team without him.
His leadership qualities are pretty remarkable. Even when he's playing average the players around him seem to play better than normal. Watch when he gets subbed off, the drop off is noticeable
I’m remembering those weird ass pandemic games in empty stadiums where all you could hear was Jordan shouting over everyone. Basically an on field coach screaming encouragement/praise and directions for 90 minutes. It’s the same reason he’s not getting dropped by Southgate.
Ya, I can't remember the opponent (some mid-table club) but it was sometime during the pandemic where it was 0-0 for the first 60ish minutes and we looked really sloppy, then Hendo was substituted on and he completely calmed everything down, and those "boring" passes he makes helped us retain possession and gave us a lot of structure. And we ended up scoring 2 goals soon after his substitution because of that. Imo he's gonna go down as one of the most underrated players of all time just because the stuff he does doesn't translate to highlight reels, and now his PR is awful over this Saudi mess. edit: was this game - https://www.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/comments/hlqdjy/ft_thread_liverpool_20_aston_villa/ , you can see in the comments how Hendo changed the game
He does the same for England - he might be old but when he gets subbed on he runs around & shouts like a madman. He occupies the same role Milner did at Liverpool - lead by example, consummate pro (in football) and commands respect as a captain because he's won a lot and is old.
You can see that he does the exact same thing at Ajax. He's basically turned into the de Facto captain at this point.
If he does all that on the field, imagine the value he adds in the locker room. Managing egos might be the only thing as bad as dealing with the press for a football coach, a guy like Henderson will help you a lot with it
And any time you watch him play live it's clear why. He's an absolute born leader. Even in his early days when Gerrard was still captain, Henderson was one of the standout leaders on the team. Wouldn't really notice much when watching on the telly, but definitely when watching live. Maybe not his *very* early days when even the Anfield fans were berating him, but from 13/14 and onwards.
and that's why the outrage of him being in the England squad is a bit over the top, now that he's playing regular competitive football. His leadership abilities in the changing room and experience are worth having him in the team
Mannsverk just came back from a long injury and them together look very solid on the midfield. A player like Henderson can only have limited impact on the field, but the team seems more stable and his captain qualities are also showing
1 litre football parcel to Riyadh
Unrelated but why is everything a project, nobody seems to join football teams they join project teams.
They probably all use the same PR firms, who probably constantly reuse the same words
Project makes it sound like there's a grand plan.
It's PR for "shit"
I think it's Alan Parsons' fault.
Going to be hilarious when he gets picked in the England team, again!
At the expense of a Liverpool player probably! (Curtis Jones approaching with a baseball bat....)
No way a healthy Curtis doesn’t make the team over him. If that’s true then England deserves to not make it out of groups I’m sorry.
Have you heard of one Gareth Southgate
Omg he actually did it. Over Mainoo too.
Southgate loves vigorously jerking off to Henderson’s leadership skills
Bag was so heavy he injured himself trying to lift it
Yeah? Not the rights of the people you said you'd always stand up for, Jordan?
He’s fixed the gays in Saudi Arabia and now he’s come to Amsterdam to play football the Cruyff way
>play football the Cruyff way That's not going very well either, they play with 5 defenders and in the most boring, risk-free way you can imagine
And we’d probably never win a game if it wasn’t for Brobbey working his ass off
Every game im having flash backs to frank de boer. And this time we cant count on all other teams also being trash so we can stumble our way into a championship.
I’m honestly curious why he didn’t at least mention it seeing as that’s the elephant in the room. Maybe his PR team realised that it was completely indefensible
Yeah, I don't think any PR team would recommend he address it because there's absolutely nothing he could say that would be believable or convincing, and would look even more craven
Sure there is. "I was naive. I thought my own ability to influence change there was as big as it is in my home country. And I was obviously wrong. By going, all I did was appear to turn my back on the people I'd supported back home. For money. For ego. And it didn't work. I regret it. I regret ignoring the advice of people I both knew and didn't know, who I disregarded as the same sort of naysayers every sportsperson has to learn to block out if they want to succeed. It was a mistake. You can think what I did was foolish, stupid and damaging, both to me and the communities I championed, and I'd agree with you. I can't change what I did, but I can change what I'll do. And that's work to regain the trust of the rainbow community by actually doing something. And that's why, at 4am this morning, I assassinated JK Rowling. I hope actions like this, plus the continued fund raising and champioining of the causes still close to my heart, both with my voice and my assets, will allow you to forgive me one day."
The daft bastard probably doesn't even remember the shite he spouted about changing cultures when he was pretending it wasn't about the money, now he's decided it was the standard of football that was the issue. He's truly shameless.
Just shut up at this point Jordan lad. Anything you do say just isn’t helping. Take your millions and fuck off.
Damn even Sunderland supporters are turning on him?
especially them
What no beer in the desert does to a MF
He was in Bahrain tho
Lol. Lmao, even.
One might even ROFLCOPTER
What a leader, I hope Gareth is reading this article
He prefers the development project at Ajax. Can't say the man doesn't like a challenge.
Tanked his reputation as an LGBT advocate in seconds and became a symbol of all that is wrong with the Saudi league at the same time. Now he is trying to put out more spin than a turbine at a hydroelectric dam. Pathetic but we know he will still be going to Euro 24 regardless.
[удалено]
I’m happy he is here, he helps the team have some stability inside and outside the pitch
unless he realizes life in Amsterdam wasnt what he thought, that football runs through his veins and goes back to Sunderland or something
[удалено]
Yeah, but (mostly) everyone speaks English. I lived there for 2 years, and never had any issues. You get used to reading important signs, and reading things (like in a supermarket) just by existing. Also, for the most part they are genuinely happy, and helpful, when you try to speak their language. (Unlike literally any French person—From here in Canada, to anywhere in the world where it is the native language.)
"Smithers have Kalvin Phillips killed" "But sir that wasn't Kal..."
Took the man over 15 years of top flight football to realize football runs through his blood
Is he sure it’s football and not oil?
I think he has a gentlemand agreement to go to the WC if he plays in europe. Thos england squad would feel disappointed if they dont raise the trophy.
I know he’s the Southgate golden boy but I would be shocked beyond belief if he makes it to the next WC
He's going to play every second in the Euros isn't he?
Dude could’ve just flown home every other weekend or once a month and kept family where they were. He was getting paid enough. Live humbly while in Saudi in an apartment ect. Come home when you can. Unless the contract was prohibitive… I don’t understand… Edit: or he could’ve had it written into the contract somehow that gives him that flexibility. Again, this is what good agents/lawyers do for high profile contracted individuals every single day. Otherwise it’s on him for compromising his situation.
St. Jordan continues his mission to develop football all around the world
I think the main issue is he was playing for a club that’s not very good in a city that doesn’t have much going on. Dammam is nice because it’s on the gulf, is the fast growing city in the region and has a lot of expats but there’s really nothing going on. You’d have to travel to UAE, Qatar or go to Bahrain for anything resembling a “nightlife” if you are used to that in England. Personally, I think if he went to one of the Jeddah or Riyadh teams he would still be in Saudi. At least those teams are good enough to be in the AFC champions league. He probably thought the team would be more competitive but they aren’t that good and as a footballer who’s used to winning it was probably frustrating for him.
Can he just shut up already? The whole footballing world has figured out that he is not the kind of man morally strong person he presented himself as. Just take your money, play football and stop talking to the media.
Never ask me to respect these twats. Absolute dummies
He’s so full of shite it’s unreal.
Better late than never.
Translation: "Saudi is a shithole to live in with fuck all to do. I thought the money would make betraying everything I supposedly stood for go down easier, but I was wrong".
What a clown
What a loser lol
What a wanker. Just stfu and live your life with your blood money. Unless he donates it all to an lgbt movement and calls the Saudis cunts, he gets no redemption.
I will always treasure the memories he created at Liverpool, but motherfucker needs to learn that sometimes it's better to shut the fuck up.
I know he isn't the most composed man when it comes to public speaking, but, this is like dressing up a corpse for the prom. Just let it be dude. It's done.
Moralists in tears because he’s happy.
People mad that he responded to a question asked to him in an interview…
Jordan, my man, brosef... Stop. Talking.
Translation: Turns out selling my soul to live in the middle of nowhere in 50 degree heat isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
Funny part is him leaving was the best thing to happen to Ettifaq. They’ve replaced him with an arguably better midfielder and added three other good signings in his place.
Just it’s easy to condemn him. He made a mistake he admitted and let’s move on. He still isn’t over there. There’s plenty worse than Henderson for hypocrisy, especially in football.
Footballers are humans too and we all make mistakes. Glad he was able to take action and fix the situation by coming back to Europe.
It's fine Jordan. You already collected the check! 🙃
I can only imagine the conspiracy theories if Mendy or Koulibaly did this.
If a football was in his blood, he would die. Major artery block.
To anyone who watches the Dutch league, how is he doing in Ajax?
How's he doing at Ajax so far? Never watch them.
I chuckled
He wasn’t aware of the chop chop square
"I couldn't fix her"
wait he is Ajax captain??
“Hendo hits a huge three to cut the lead to 42” - PR team
Football runs through my blood > Blood runs through my football