Jordan Henderson has broken his silence on his Liverpool summer exit.
Henderson cut ties with Anfield after 12 years in favour of reuniting with former teammate Steven Gerrard at Saud Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq.
The England international’s departure was considered a controversial one, not least due to his longstanding advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.
But Henderson, 33, claims that the decision to leave the Reds was driven by indications that his role with Jurgen Klopp’s side was set to change.
“There were a few things that sent alarm bells ringing,” he told The Athletic.
“I’ve got a very good relationship with Jurgen. He was very honest with me.
“I won’t go into detail about the conversation because it’s private, but it put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much.
“I knew there were going to be new players coming in my position.
“And if I’m not playing, as anybody will know, especially the manager, that can be quite difficult for me and especially when I’ve been at a club for so long, I’ve captained the team for so long.
“Especially when England’s a big thing for me.
“You’ve got the Euros coming up. And then there was an approach from Al-Ettifaq to the club to see if it would be possible for me to go there.
“The reaction from the club again wasn’t to say no. At that moment I felt as though my value or the want for me to stay, with the manager and within the club, maybe it had shifted.
“I knew that time would come at some point. I didn’t think it would be now. And I had to accept that.
“If one of those people said to me, ‘now we want you to stay’, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”