14 July 2023 , 05:10
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Jordan Henderson's Saudi Arabia offer is "crazy" according to Jermaine Pennant who joked that such sums would usually be used to tempt the likes of Lionel Messi.
The Liverpool captain is seriously weighing up a move to the Kingdom with Al Ettifaq, who have recently appointed Steven Gerrard as boss. Teams from the Saudi Pro League have been raiding Europe's best talent, knowing their huge wage offers can turn heads.
Henderson has reportedly been offered a staggering £700,000-a-week, which would see him almost quadruple the money he's on at Anfield. Pennant remains shocked at the sums being offered to the Liverpool captain, citing concerns over what he would bring to the team.
The former Liverpool man said on TalkSport: “It is crazy and I don’t know what they see in him. It is Jordan Henderson, it is not like they are trying to prise Lionel Messi away. It is just Jordan Henderson."
Goldstein added: “He has been a good captain for Liverpool but I don’t think he is a game-changer. His assists and goals, the numbers are very low. You can’t argue with what he has done with Liverpool. He has been their captain, their leader, I get all that.”
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Pennant then continued: “See you say that but you tell me a game that Jordan Henderson has been a standout player, or done something that has stood out, I can’t. Okay, he was there but I can’t think of a game where I’ve thought, ‘oh yeah, this is why we’ve signed Jordan Henderson'."
The Guardian reports that the player himself has accepted the move and it is now up to the Saudi club and Liverpool on agreeing a fee. Henderson has held talks with Jurgen Klopp but the Reds are insisting on a £10m fee despite Al Ettifaq hoping they could pick the player up on a free.
Henderson's potential switch to the Middle East has copped huge criticism, not least from the club's LGBTQ community. The 33-year-old has previously been a reliable ally and spoken out about the issues. Saudi Arabia though have very different cultural values.
“Kop Outs have valued the allyship shown by @JHenderson,” the group tweeted. “We are appalled and concerned that anyone might consider working for a #sportswashing operation for a regime where women & LGBT+ people are oppressed & that regularly tops the world death sentence table?”
So far the Premier League has lost the likes of N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly to Saudi Arabia - the trio all being paid huge sums to head east.