Liverpool transfer decision made Henderson cry but was quickly reversed
It's been a nightmare campaign for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp - but Monday night's Merseyside derby is an opportunity for the Reds to put a smile back on the faces of the Anfield faithful.
Just months after coming up just short in their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple, Liverpool are out of the Premier League title race, both domestic cups and face the prospect of a daunting two-legged tie against Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16.
Already, it feels like fans are desperate to consign this rotten campaign to the history books ahead of a mooted summer rebuild. And, given that midfield issues have been at the crux of Liverpool's issues this year, it's probably safe to assume that the Reds' engine room is set for a major revamp.
One man who is likely to survive a summer cull is Reds captain Jordan Henderson. The 32-year-old has been integral to some of Liverpool's biggest triumphs during the Klopp era and is likely to feature against Everton on Monday night.
But while Henderson is unlikely to be axed this summer, he was almost moved on by ex-boss Brendan Rodgers, who offered the midfielder the opportunity to leave the club back in 2012.
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Henderson relived the incident in an interview with Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport earlier this year and recalled: "I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was just before we played Hearts at Anfield, and we had a game on the night. I had a conversation with Brendan at the hotel the day of the game – and to be fair to Brendan he sort of gave me the option. It was more the club that was willing to let me go.
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Jordan Henderson (BT Sport)"Brendan said ‘listen, it’s down to you, you’re not going to be starting as much as what you’d have liked but I’ll try to help you improve on what I need you to improve on. You’re still young, and if you do that then maybe you get more game time as time goes on’.
"So basically I went back to my room, cried a little bit and was devastated really, but from that moment on I just tried to… It wasn’t really an option for me to leave, because I hadn’t been at the club very long, and I’d worked extremely hard to get there."
Unsurprisingly, Henderson set out to prove Rodgers wrong and knuckled down in a bid to salvage his Anfield career. The rest, as they say, is history: the England ace has gone on to lift the Premier League, the Champions League and both domestic trophies since Rodgers' bombshell.
Like many of his Liverpool teammates, Henderson's form has faltered this term. But the veteran is still an influential player at Anfield and it's highly likely he'll still have an integral role in Liverpool's team next year; regardless of how extensively Klopp chooses to overhaul his squad in the summer.
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