I'm pretty sure it will be his wife and daughter that is behind the decision. If they are both miserable then no amount of money will solve that.
Not only will it be about missing family and friends but living in a predominantly Muslim country is a huge culture shock I'm sure too. And we aren't talking Dubai either where laws are more relaxed and there are more Brits and English speaking people. Saudi Arabia is definitely not a place I'm in a hurry to visit.
Idiot for going over there and his subsequent statements, but I don't get why he's now being criticised again for leaving.
Seems he's finally realised it was wrong and wasn't worth it. Don't see why we should criticise someone for trying to amend a mistake.
I read he deferred his wages to avoid paying UK tax and now he's leaving it's unlikely they'll bother paying him
The bloke has gone from Liverpool captain and generally revered as a role model of the game to ruining his reputation to play for free in Saudi then join the worst ajax team in years within 6 months.
Quite a fall from grace.
Went to Saudi for the money, got no money
Ruined his reputation for nothing.
I have great respect to Hendo for joining Ajax. One of the biggest clubs in the world, certainly bigger than the likes of Spurs and other PL clubs he could be joining.
The Saudi league is failing, which is hilarious. The only criticism I had of Hendo was trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes saying he wasn’t going to Saudi for the money. If he’d just admitted it, I’d have no issues.
comment by Cinciwolf----JA06 NFL Fantasy CHAMP 2023 (U11551)
posted 3 hours, 41 minutes ago
The league is doomed to failure. Other than money it has nothing going for it. No atmosphere, no passion, no competition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friend of mine began work in Saudi in October. The work and projects he's involved in are really interesting but the country remains very un westernised and in many respect very traditional, a culture that is far removed from ours. He does not enjoy living there, there is very little social life to be had beyond golf and drinking coffee.
He's been to a couple games. Imagine a large stadium with just one block of seats full, the rest empty. That's what it's like in many games. He watched the team that Mitrovic plays for and said he was the star player but barely tried. Many of the other players were bog average at best. Real poor quality.
2ng game he went to He left at half time it was so crap.
I think the perception is that it's just like Dubia but it is far from that. I am not surprised some footballers could not settle if my friends experience is anything to go by. He's just got to grind through the 18 months of his contract.
comment by HB Maybe Beale wasn't the mastermind (U21935)
posted 4 minutes ago
Went to Saudi for the money, got no money
Ruined his reputation for nothing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure he won't leave there empty handed.
Not sure how this is cowardly, tbh.
He tried something, realised it was not for him and quickly made the decision to change path... That's kind of the opposite of cowardly.
Yeah I think a lot of the Western players at least believed it'd be like living in Dubai, but Dubai was pretty much purpose built for that intention.
SA doesn't appear to have many, if any places close to that. I did hear Henderson and other players were living in Bahrain because of that as well.
It will never be a big or watchable league if the top division has no atmosphere
Hendo is a slimy cant and a very very average PL player who hit the jackpot at LFC a move to Saudi Arabia. Not a place I would want to take my family to live and grow up no matter how much money they gave with
So Im not sure why he is now a 'coward' according to the OP. Hes done the right thing IMO. Im sure hes got enough money in the bank that most of us could only imagine, and life in the Netherlands could be in many ways the complete reverse of life in Saudi. And Im sure he will still get paid hansdomely in Amsterdam.
One of the strangest moves I've ever seen. Stands up for the LGBT community. Then sells his soul to the devil and waffles a load of crap about building football and spreading the word. Then decides he can't hack it out there and comes back to Europe with his tail between his legs. All he has done is damage his reputation and likely spoil his chances making the Euros.
What an ill-advised move.
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
Wouldn't call him a coward but I think we can all laugh at him and how stupid he looks.
Western players, especially the English, do struggling socially if no alcohol is present in their social life.
From my reading while the crowd numbers are very small (think league 1 size on some games to lower teams getting less than a thousand), they have increased by at least 24% from last season.
Saudi are playing the long game. So low crowds should be expected at this point in time especially when they not only want to improve the league but also grow the game in the country. Only the top 4 sides have the financial backing of the government fund. The rest do not. If Saudi keep this up, they could be a good decent league on the level with some second or their their leagues like MLS, SPL, etc.
At this moment in time, this could go either way. Jordan Henderson should never have joined especially given his stance in LGBTQ+. It has damaged his reputation but hasn't damaged the Saudi Pro League. What will damage the Saudi Pro League is if their numbers do not go up in the following years and the other teams in the league don't benefit from the investment into the League. As money can help you start off, but improving and sustaining it is another thing all together.
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is, but they tend to follow the top 5 league and it doesn't match popularity of the game in Europe or South America.
We have to see where they are in 5 years time. They could end up like China (their government policies had a big impact on how the league turned to shambles there and the gaming industry is going through the same recently).
If they are serious, they could emerge as the top league in Asia where currently the K ans J League are the best with the Australian league in third.
Hendo sold his reputation out of greed and now looks a fool. May be cowardly to go there in the first instance, rejecting the offer out of principle would have been the braver thing to do, but to walk away is not cowardly. Its actually quite a big step to turn down the money and have egg on his face. He's dodged the PL though, so he's still hiding away a bit, so he's no hero.
comment by CurrentlyInPoland (U11181)
posted 37 seconds ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is, but they tend to follow the top 5 league and it doesn't match popularity of the game in Europe or South America.
We have to see where they are in 5 years time. They could end up like China (their government policies had a big impact on how the league turned to shambles there and the gaming industry is going through the same recently).
If they are serious, they could emerge as the top league in Asia where currently the K ans J League are the best with the Australian league in third.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
it cannot be that popular if they are getting attendances of 900 . That's UK non-league level.
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by CurrentlyInPoland (U11181)
posted 37 seconds ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is, but they tend to follow the top 5 league and it doesn't match popularity of the game in Europe or South America.
We have to see where they are in 5 years time. They could end up like China (their government policies had a big impact on how the league turned to shambles there and the gaming industry is going through the same recently).
If they are serious, they could emerge as the top league in Asia where currently the K ans J League are the best with the Australian league in third.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
it cannot be that popular if they are getting attendances of 900 . That's UK non-league level.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Most watch or support foreign teams. Crowd numbers will go up if investment is sustained and/or increased. 24% increase in crowds is good. It is a long term project, so talking about small crowds when crowds were always small makes little sense at this moment in time. If they're the same in 5 years time despite investment put in, they would be considered failures.
All I am saying is that it is too soon to write them off. I remember Korea back in 2009 and the city I went to had a stadium that hosted the 2002 world cup games. That team was very poor with poor crowds (we got in for free). That team now (who instill keep up with) have become the top side. League has improved and so has crowd levels. Football shares the top spot there for sport with other sports like Basketball and Baseball in the country.
Looking at both the K-league and J-league (they also signed older players back in the 90s, Gary Lineker played there at the tail end for instance) have grown a lot.
A sport can be popular without the domestic league getting much support. I'd imagine these days most fans around the world probably follow a big European club more than a local team.
comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
Wouldn't call him a coward but I think we can all laugh at him and how stupid he looks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeh, he has probably been quite brave in actually walking away like he has.
Even if they match the J league, it is still a provincial league on the global scale.
Japan is also a country of 4 times the population crammed into an area about 20% the size of SA.
Look at the American model. Look how long that has taken to get any sort of traction.
Along with the huge cultural differences, I struggle to see players going to SA long term unless they are just wanting the cash. Top players don't go to the J league despite its lofty status relative to the Saudi Pro League.
Even if the game grows domestically in SA, much like the J League, it doesnt make it any sort of super power.
I really have no idea what they expect the Saudi pro league to become. It certainly isnt sustainable . Did you know Henderson's annual wage was about the same as Brentford FCs annual player payroll. Its bonkers
I did. That's why it depends. It will take a long time. They're definitely not going to be a top league but they certainly can take the spot of some of the other smaller leagues in Europe. J-league doesn't have the money the MLS has and still has good teams compared to them. Saudi will take time. I'd say if they catch up with MLS on the next few years, that would be successful as catching up to the top 5 will take decades more.
Sign in if you want to comment
Jordan Henderson
Page 2 of 3
posted on 18/1/24
I'm pretty sure it will be his wife and daughter that is behind the decision. If they are both miserable then no amount of money will solve that.
Not only will it be about missing family and friends but living in a predominantly Muslim country is a huge culture shock I'm sure too. And we aren't talking Dubai either where laws are more relaxed and there are more Brits and English speaking people. Saudi Arabia is definitely not a place I'm in a hurry to visit.
posted on 18/1/24
Idiot for going over there and his subsequent statements, but I don't get why he's now being criticised again for leaving.
Seems he's finally realised it was wrong and wasn't worth it. Don't see why we should criticise someone for trying to amend a mistake.
posted on 18/1/24
I read he deferred his wages to avoid paying UK tax and now he's leaving it's unlikely they'll bother paying him
The bloke has gone from Liverpool captain and generally revered as a role model of the game to ruining his reputation to play for free in Saudi then join the worst ajax team in years within 6 months.
Quite a fall from grace.
posted on 18/1/24
Went to Saudi for the money, got no money
Ruined his reputation for nothing.
posted on 18/1/24
I have great respect to Hendo for joining Ajax. One of the biggest clubs in the world, certainly bigger than the likes of Spurs and other PL clubs he could be joining.
The Saudi league is failing, which is hilarious. The only criticism I had of Hendo was trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes saying he wasn’t going to Saudi for the money. If he’d just admitted it, I’d have no issues.
posted on 18/1/24
comment by Cinciwolf----JA06 NFL Fantasy CHAMP 2023 (U11551)
posted 3 hours, 41 minutes ago
The league is doomed to failure. Other than money it has nothing going for it. No atmosphere, no passion, no competition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friend of mine began work in Saudi in October. The work and projects he's involved in are really interesting but the country remains very un westernised and in many respect very traditional, a culture that is far removed from ours. He does not enjoy living there, there is very little social life to be had beyond golf and drinking coffee.
He's been to a couple games. Imagine a large stadium with just one block of seats full, the rest empty. That's what it's like in many games. He watched the team that Mitrovic plays for and said he was the star player but barely tried. Many of the other players were bog average at best. Real poor quality.
2ng game he went to He left at half time it was so crap.
I think the perception is that it's just like Dubia but it is far from that. I am not surprised some footballers could not settle if my friends experience is anything to go by. He's just got to grind through the 18 months of his contract.
posted on 18/1/24
comment by HB Maybe Beale wasn't the mastermind (U21935)
posted 4 minutes ago
Went to Saudi for the money, got no money
Ruined his reputation for nothing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure he won't leave there empty handed.
posted on 18/1/24
Not sure how this is cowardly, tbh.
He tried something, realised it was not for him and quickly made the decision to change path... That's kind of the opposite of cowardly.
posted on 18/1/24
Yeah I think a lot of the Western players at least believed it'd be like living in Dubai, but Dubai was pretty much purpose built for that intention.
SA doesn't appear to have many, if any places close to that. I did hear Henderson and other players were living in Bahrain because of that as well.
posted on 18/1/24
It will never be a big or watchable league if the top division has no atmosphere
posted on 18/1/24
Hendo is a slimy cant and a very very average PL player who hit the jackpot at LFC a move to Saudi Arabia. Not a place I would want to take my family to live and grow up no matter how much money they gave with
So Im not sure why he is now a 'coward' according to the OP. Hes done the right thing IMO. Im sure hes got enough money in the bank that most of us could only imagine, and life in the Netherlands could be in many ways the complete reverse of life in Saudi. And Im sure he will still get paid hansdomely in Amsterdam.
posted on 18/1/24
One of the strangest moves I've ever seen. Stands up for the LGBT community. Then sells his soul to the devil and waffles a load of crap about building football and spreading the word. Then decides he can't hack it out there and comes back to Europe with his tail between his legs. All he has done is damage his reputation and likely spoil his chances making the Euros.
What an ill-advised move.
posted on 18/1/24
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
posted on 18/1/24
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
posted on 18/1/24
Wouldn't call him a coward but I think we can all laugh at him and how stupid he looks.
posted on 18/1/24
Western players, especially the English, do struggling socially if no alcohol is present in their social life.
From my reading while the crowd numbers are very small (think league 1 size on some games to lower teams getting less than a thousand), they have increased by at least 24% from last season.
Saudi are playing the long game. So low crowds should be expected at this point in time especially when they not only want to improve the league but also grow the game in the country. Only the top 4 sides have the financial backing of the government fund. The rest do not. If Saudi keep this up, they could be a good decent league on the level with some second or their their leagues like MLS, SPL, etc.
At this moment in time, this could go either way. Jordan Henderson should never have joined especially given his stance in LGBTQ+. It has damaged his reputation but hasn't damaged the Saudi Pro League. What will damage the Saudi Pro League is if their numbers do not go up in the following years and the other teams in the league don't benefit from the investment into the League. As money can help you start off, but improving and sustaining it is another thing all together.
posted on 18/1/24
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is, but they tend to follow the top 5 league and it doesn't match popularity of the game in Europe or South America.
We have to see where they are in 5 years time. They could end up like China (their government policies had a big impact on how the league turned to shambles there and the gaming industry is going through the same recently).
If they are serious, they could emerge as the top league in Asia where currently the K ans J League are the best with the Australian league in third.
posted on 18/1/24
Hendo sold his reputation out of greed and now looks a fool. May be cowardly to go there in the first instance, rejecting the offer out of principle would have been the braver thing to do, but to walk away is not cowardly. Its actually quite a big step to turn down the money and have egg on his face. He's dodged the PL though, so he's still hiding away a bit, so he's no hero.
posted on 18/1/24
comment by CurrentlyInPoland (U11181)
posted 37 seconds ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is, but they tend to follow the top 5 league and it doesn't match popularity of the game in Europe or South America.
We have to see where they are in 5 years time. They could end up like China (their government policies had a big impact on how the league turned to shambles there and the gaming industry is going through the same recently).
If they are serious, they could emerge as the top league in Asia where currently the K ans J League are the best with the Australian league in third.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
it cannot be that popular if they are getting attendances of 900 . That's UK non-league level.
posted on 18/1/24
poor ajax
posted on 18/1/24
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by CurrentlyInPoland (U11181)
posted 37 seconds ago
comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by moreinjuredthanowen (U9641)
posted 18 minutes ago
maybe he just couldn't face the thought of having to go all the way to may without beer.
The highest paid players in ajax are on 70k a week or so.
He is trying to make out he was only supposed to get 375k a week in saudi. that might be "after tax" but he seems to have decided to take nothing.
For all we know the heads up might have gone out to many players who seem to want out. Maybe the promised wages won't materialise and they are not willing to hang round on the off chance they get paid and are all cutting their losses.
who knows.
Its pretty clear that you'd want a massive signing on fee day 1 paid prior to entry to the country to even consider this in future.
700 people at a game. who are they kidding.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It still makes me laugh when I head Hendo saying that football is popular in SA. Is it really?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is, but they tend to follow the top 5 league and it doesn't match popularity of the game in Europe or South America.
We have to see where they are in 5 years time. They could end up like China (their government policies had a big impact on how the league turned to shambles there and the gaming industry is going through the same recently).
If they are serious, they could emerge as the top league in Asia where currently the K ans J League are the best with the Australian league in third.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
it cannot be that popular if they are getting attendances of 900 . That's UK non-league level.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Most watch or support foreign teams. Crowd numbers will go up if investment is sustained and/or increased. 24% increase in crowds is good. It is a long term project, so talking about small crowds when crowds were always small makes little sense at this moment in time. If they're the same in 5 years time despite investment put in, they would be considered failures.
All I am saying is that it is too soon to write them off. I remember Korea back in 2009 and the city I went to had a stadium that hosted the 2002 world cup games. That team was very poor with poor crowds (we got in for free). That team now (who instill keep up with) have become the top side. League has improved and so has crowd levels. Football shares the top spot there for sport with other sports like Basketball and Baseball in the country.
Looking at both the K-league and J-league (they also signed older players back in the 90s, Gary Lineker played there at the tail end for instance) have grown a lot.
posted on 18/1/24
A sport can be popular without the domestic league getting much support. I'd imagine these days most fans around the world probably follow a big European club more than a local team.
posted on 18/1/24
comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
Wouldn't call him a coward but I think we can all laugh at him and how stupid he looks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeh, he has probably been quite brave in actually walking away like he has.
posted on 18/1/24
Even if they match the J league, it is still a provincial league on the global scale.
Japan is also a country of 4 times the population crammed into an area about 20% the size of SA.
Look at the American model. Look how long that has taken to get any sort of traction.
Along with the huge cultural differences, I struggle to see players going to SA long term unless they are just wanting the cash. Top players don't go to the J league despite its lofty status relative to the Saudi Pro League.
Even if the game grows domestically in SA, much like the J League, it doesnt make it any sort of super power.
I really have no idea what they expect the Saudi pro league to become. It certainly isnt sustainable . Did you know Henderson's annual wage was about the same as Brentford FCs annual player payroll. Its bonkers
posted on 18/1/24
I did. That's why it depends. It will take a long time. They're definitely not going to be a top league but they certainly can take the spot of some of the other smaller leagues in Europe. J-league doesn't have the money the MLS has and still has good teams compared to them. Saudi will take time. I'd say if they catch up with MLS on the next few years, that would be successful as catching up to the top 5 will take decades more.
Page 2 of 3