Jurgen Klopp disagreed with Jordan Henderson’s allegation that he “at no point” felt “wanted by the club or anyone to stay” at Liverpool.
Henderson’s talk with The Athletic about his transfer from Liverpool to Al-Ettifaq and the problems involved had a huge impact.
It may have been intended to improve his reputation following harsh criticism of the transfer, but it has had the exact opposite effect.
Following discussions about his role with Klopp, one of the recurring themes in his interview with Adam Crafton and David Ornstein was that he no longer felt “wanted” by Liverpool.
We wouldn’t be having this talk, he asserted, if one of those people had told me, “Now we want you to stay.”
“After that, I need to consider my career’s following steps.
“Now, that’s not to say they forced me out of the club or were saying they wanted me to leave, but at no point did I feel wanted by the club or anyone to stay,” the author says.
The discussion with Klopp, Henderson continued, “put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much.”
This was to be expected, especially in light of the additions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, the latter of whom has excelled in Henderson’s former position of right-sided midfielder.
But Klopp contradicted himself when he said that he wanted to keep Henderson after he moved to Saudi Arabia in July.
It is not my goal to persuade him to stay. It’s not about that; Hendo and I have developed a relationship over the past eight years.
“We were fully aware of the circumstances: we wanted to keep him but would not obstruct him.
“There’s no justification for us to put rocks or stones in his path if he wants to leave.
“It was full of respect and all you needed in that kind of circumstance. I wasn’t trying to persuade him; rather, I was responding to the situation.
I acted in that way because that is how I saw my role at the time.
