Skip to main content

Henderson departure for Saudi is symbolic

Jordan Henderson’s departure for Saudi Arabia has proved highly controversial: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66324791.  He is prepared to give up up the Liverpool captaincy for life at the seventh-best team in Saudi Arabia on a contract which, at around £700,000 a week, is not so much comfortable as mind-boggling.

It is a move that will have serious repercussions for Liverpool — and which has caused dismay within the LGBTQI+ community, where Henderson had previously been the most prominent ally in the men’s game — but it is also one that will set alarm bells ringing in English football.

A high-profile English player was always likely to be enticed to Saudi Arabia sooner or later, but few people would have imagined it would be one with as much to lose, both reputationally and professionally, as Henderson.

Not just a Liverpool and England player, but captain of his club and vice-captain of his national team. Not just a high-profile player, but one who has used his profile and his platform for good, speaking up against homophobia, discrimination and injustice. Little wonder that so many are shocked or upset by his defection to Saudi Arabia, whose human rights record attracts widespread condemnation.

Henderson is joining a team that finished seventh last season, with an average attendance of 5,561, and whose big signing last summer, Brazilian forward Vitinho, scored three goals.

Football-wise, Henderson has settled for what looks, unimaginably to some of those who know him well, like the ultimate comfort zone. He never seemed the type, given that he has spent his entire career striving, pushing himself and his team-mates. And that is what will trouble Southgate, just as it will trouble many others in English football.  If Henderson can be turned, who might be next?

Saudi Arabia is using sport to build its profile on the world stage and establish itself as a tourism hub. Domestically, the strategy is part of a series of economic and social reforms spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Under the chairmanship of the Saudi leader, the Public Investment Fund last month took ownership of Al Hilal rival Saudi Pro League teams Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, and Al Nassr. The Saudi clubs have snapped up more star footballers since Al Nassr struck a deal with Cristiano Ronaldo in December. Al Ittihad secured the transfers of French stars N’Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema; Brazilian Roberto Firmino left Liverpool for Al Ahli, and Portugal player Rúben Neves left Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers for Al Hilal.

The money they are spending is a fraction of their oil wealth and they have a politically driven strategy which will not falter in the medium term.   Football is seen as a source of soft power.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spurs CEO attacks luxury training base

The Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has issued a withering assessment of the way the club was run under Daniel Levy, likening the state-of-the-art training centre to a five-star hotel rather than a centre of high performance.  Venkatesham was appointed to his role in April 2025, having stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal the previous summer. However, he has said that some aspects of the club were “in a significantly worse state” than he expected.  “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world,” Venkatesham told BBC Sport. “But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. I think there are many areas where the club hasn’t got the right level of expertise.”  He explained that the football side of operations was the club’s main downfall when he arrived last year. [One Spurs fan wryly observed that it was like a water company sayi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more