Liverpool Captain To Join Gerrard In Saudi Club – Reports

The England midfielder has reportedly been offered a deal worth up to £ 700,000 per week

Al Ettifaq

The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has agreed to join former teammate Steven Gerrard at Saudi club Al Ettifaq.

Henderson, 33, will lead Liverpool to their first Premier League title in 30 years in 2020, a year after winning the Champions League.

However, the England midfielder has reportedly been offered a deal worth up to £ 700,000 per week ($915,000) to join Gerrard.

Liverpool will be paid a fee of £12 million ($15.5 million).

Gerrard took over as manager of Al Ettifaq earlier this month.

Henderson joined Liverpool from Sunderland in 2011 and took over as captain at Anfield in 2015.

He had been left out of Jurgen Klopp’s squad for Wednesday’s friendly against Karlsruhe.

Liverpool are also set to lose Fabinho due to the influx of Saudi investment, with the Brazilian on the verge of a £40 million move to Al-Ittihad.

Since the end of last season, Klopp has also seen midfielders Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner leave on free transfers.

However, Liverpool have strengthened that area of the pitch with the acquisitions of Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Liverpool’s LGBT+ fans group Kop Outs has criticised Henderson’s decision to relocate to the Gulf state.

The Saudi government has been accused of attempting to “sportswash” its human rights record by hosting major sporting events and attracting some of the world’s best football players to its domestic league.

Last year, the conservative monarchy executed 81 people in a single day, criminalises homosexuality, and sparked international outrage when journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

“Kop Outs have valued the allyship shown by @JHenderson,” the group said in a statement on Twitter.

“We are appalled and concerned that anyone might consider working for a #sportswashing operation for a regime where women & LGBT+ people are oppressed.”

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