27 October 2023 , 08:14
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It's fair to say that Jordan Henderson hasn't enjoyed the best of times since completing his lucrative move to Al-Ettifaq in the summer.
The 33-year-old's decision to leave Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League was heavily scrutinised, with the former Reds captain subjected to a barrage of criticism after effectively turning his back on the LGBTQ+ community. Henderson was even booed by a portion of England fans during the recent international break, although England manager Gareth Southgate subsequently lept to his defence.
Henderson's woes have since been compounded, though, by the tiny attendances his new club have attracted in recent weeks, with just 696 fans turning up to watch Al-Ettifaq's 1-0 defeat against Al-Riyadh at the weekend.
Intriguingly, Henderson's former Liverpool teammate Fabinho hasn't had that problem. The midfield enforcer followed Henderson in swapping Anfield for the Middle East to join Al-Ittihad, who have the highest average attendance figure (29,044) in the division, per a report from The Times.
However, even that figure is down on last year. The highest attendance for a single match so far this term is held by Al-Hilal, the most decorated team in Saudi Arabia, who attracted a crowd of 59,600 for their match against Al-Fayha back in August. The match also marked the unveiling of Neymar as an Al-Hilal player.
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Details of embarrassingly low attendances for Henderson and co - who are managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard - come just weeks after reports claiming a horde of players who moved to the Saudi Pro League in the summer after 'hating every minute' of the experience.
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Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has played in front of tiny crowds in the Saudi Pro League (Getty Images)That's according to The Sun, which claims that several players have been left underwhelmed since joining the league, partly due to the poor attendance figures. Henderson and Fabinho regularly played in front of 50,000 fans at Anfield last year before opting to move on in the summer.
Henderson is tied to Al-Ettifaq until the summer of 2026 after putting pen to paper on a lucrative contract in the summer. That deal brought an end to a hugely successful 12-year stint at Liverpool, where he won both the Premier League and the Champions League.
Anfield favourite Graeme Souness made his feelings clear on Henderson's current woes with a blunt message last week. He wrote in The Mail: “When Jordan Henderson was booed by a section of England fans, a saying my mum used to tell me sprung to mind – ‘You’ve made your bed, son, lie in it’.
“He has got himself in trouble because of his professed allegiance to LGBTQ+, Rainbow Laces and every other great cause he wanted to be associated with. Then, you go and take Saudi money. That, I’m afraid, is his problem. He is being viewed as not genuine. If you do that, you have to take the consequences.”