Jamie Carragher believes that one ex-Liverpool player ‘made a big mistake’ by choosing to leave the Reds when he did.
In July 2023, Jordan Henderson made the controversial decision to depart Merseyside for Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, with many arguing that he was tarnishing his legacy by relocating to a country with a chequered human rights record.
He was back in Europe just six months later as he joined Ajax, before returning to England last year when signing for Brentford, who he’s set to represent against his former club on the final day of the Premier League season on 24 May.
Carragher decried his former teammate’s decision to leave Liverpool three years ago, with the midfielder duly missing out on top-flight glory under Arne Slot last term and not having the heartfelt send-off which is often bestowed upon long-serving stalwarts at Anfield.
The Sky Sports pundit told the Zac Djellab podcast: “When I retired and Steven Gerrard left the club, it was, ‘Who is going to be captain?’ Liverpool fans were going nuts that Jordan Henderson was the captain; I was defending him constantly. Don’t tell me who shouldn’t be captain, but who should!
“It was right that he was captain. He was a brilliant captain, a great lad, a brilliant player for Liverpool. I still don’t think he should have left Liverpool. He should still be at Liverpool now.
“I think he made a big mistake leaving Liverpool. He missed out on another league title. Obviously he went to Saudi Arabia and then Ajax and he’s at Brentford now.
“He’s doing well but he shouldn’t have left Liverpool. I think he made a mistake. It was because Jurgen Klopp said he was bringing in midfield players and he said he wasn’t going to play every week. What [Wataru] Endo has done at Liverpool, Jordan Henderson is a better player; he could have done that, and he’d have picked up another league title.
“I think he made a big mistake there, and what he missed out on is what Mo Salah and Andy Robertson will get in a few weeks, a big send-off from the Anfield crowd. Jordan Henderson deserved that. Fantastic player, fantastic lad.”
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We fully agree with Carragher that, after serving the club for 12 years (eight of those as captain), the now-Brentford midfielder should’ve seen his Liverpool career end with a poignant send-off at Anfield, but we didn’t know at the end of the 2022/23 campaign that he’d be leaving for Saudi Arabia.
It’s understandable if some Reds fans find it hard to forgive Henderson for the move that he made (not necessarily his decision to leave, but his choice of destination), but for what he gave to LFC for more than a decade, he deserves to be remembered as a stalwart of a wonderful era under Klopp.
The midfielder will have to live with that decision, which he described as feeling ‘like a break-up’, and that sense of regret could be heightened on 24 May when he goes back to Anfield to see two of his long-time teammates being showered with appreciation after the game against Brentford.
However, he merits tremendous respect for taking on the unenviable task of succeeding Gerrard as Liverpool captain and fulfilling that role with distinction for eight years, during which he lifted the Premier League and Champions League trophies.
It’s a shame that Henderson didn’t get to be a part of our top-flight triumph last season, but that doesn’t take away from his legacy on Merseyside, and the midfielders in Slot’s side were a major reason why we won the title 12 months ago.
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