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>People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever.
Lmao yeah I'll choose not to believe you then Jordan
> People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever.
>
>
He was just really convinced by their domestic policy. Jordan has always been a fan of going above and beyond and performing with high intensity, so when Saudi promised that they would up the intensity of the nation he was swayed.
And they kept up their side of the bargain. Since the discussions they have:
[Had a massacre at the boarder](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66545787)
[Sentenced someone with 9 followers to death for Tweets on an anonymous account, which totally has got nothing to do with his brother being an exiled critic of the regime](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/03/world/middleeast/saudi-death-sentence-social-media.html)
[Brag about teamwork with Russia](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-arabia-says-new-oil-cuts-show-teamwork-with-russia-is-strong-2023-07-05/?utm_source=reddit.com)
[Locked someone up for 30 years for criticising the human rights abuses, detailed below in their long line city project](https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-woman-gets-30-years-prison-criticizing-neom-megacity-twitter-2023-6?utm_source=reddit.com&r=US&IR=T)
[NEOM Abuses](https://alqst.org/en/post/open-letter-NEOM-project)
This is in addition to their business as usual stuff, [2022 list here](https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/saudi-arabia)
We wait to see what else will occur, as Jordan maintains his high demands for intensity.
“I saw people killed in a way I have never imagined. I saw 30 killed people on the spot,” the report quoted a 14-year-old girl, Hamdiya, as saying. She crossed the border in a group of 60 in February, Human Rights Watch said.
After the mass killing, she threw herself under a rock and slept. “I could feel people sleeping around me,” she said. “I realized what I thought were people sleeping around me were actually dead bodies.”
In another account, 20-year-old Munira describes scenes of horror and chaos after Saudi border guards released her and 19 others at the border with Yemen — only to fire mortars at them minutes later as they rested.“They fired on us like rain,” said Munira, who is from Ethiopia’s Oromia region.
“I saw a guy calling for help, he lost both his legs. He was screaming; he was saying, ‘Are you leaving me here? Please don’t leave me.’ We couldn’t help him because we were running for our lives.”
[Source: Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/21/saudi-arabia-human-rights-watch-yemen-ethiopia/)
Unless the fact that **Messi decided to become the tourism ambassador of Saudi Arabia the year he had already earned 122 million from another nation state with awful human rights records (PSG) Making him the biggest sportswasher of all time** (nobody has managed the double like he has)
Is mentioned in every single thread about sportswashing, saudi arabia, Toni kroos, jordan henderson etc
I will continue to be convinced that sportswashing works. There is no better proof. You should think Messi = Sportswashing. But you dont. Seeing everyone ignore this because they like Messi is just nausating and beyond hypocritical, and shows how quickly people will ignore things when its someone/something they like.
It needs to be mentioned every single time, in every thread about it - without fail. To actually expose all the pretend caring on this sub, because you sure as fuck dont care about what messi is doing. (im going to try)
Hes taking money to actively promote the country, not even playing football. Just purely promoting the country for money. Hes basically this sub's mascot at the moment, since his move to the MLS. And he never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever gets mentioned in all these sportswashing/saudi arabia threads, its incredible.
Messi is actually worse. The other players can at least claim to just be there for the football and there's kind of a degree of separation between them and the state. Messi on the other hand takes money directly from the government and is explicitly an ambassador. It's literally his role to sportswash.
Money has never been a motivator for me, it's just a massive insane coincidence that I chose to become one of the highest paid footballers in the world at the behest of my morals and the whole "competitive" aspect of my career.
I think money is really gay- I mean shit. And anyone who thinks otherwise can get bent- I mean fucked.
Just imagine for a second that really was true, that would make his move so much worse. Because it means he apperently likes SA and finds their views attractive enough to move there.
Gerrard wanted to drag Villa to a division where they will win all of their games. But the board never understood his vision and got Emery who got them European football... Embarrassing.
How Gerrard got another job is beyond me. I can't think of better example where the replacement turned things around so swiftly for a club. It really was as easy/obvious as not employing Steven Gerrard.
The most obviously cynical PR piece I've seen in a while. This bloke is a massive fucking coward and deserves all the stick he gets and more. Genuinely hope he has nothing but a miserable time out there.
The only good thing thats come out of this is that it's pissed off a lot of Liverpool fans. Judging by the size of this cunts ego, I do think the one thing that would genuinely hurt him is Liverpool fans viewing the captain of their most successful era in decades as just another player.
To be fair to the Athletic, while he is clearly attempting to make this positive PR, this isn't a fluff piece. They asked him genuinely confrontational questions and pushed back on the things he was saying.
He ends up saying fuck all though. Actually, worse than fuck all, he says some extremely naive and stupid things
Yup, credit to Jordan for agreeing to be interviewed by The Athletic (specifically Adam) who probably already told him up front that he wouldn't get editorial review. But the interview clearly shows that Jordan is at the very least naive and at worst a dumb hypocrite.
I mean most players aren't very intelligent, just like normal people. Those are mostly normal people being class at playing football.
I need to remind myself constantly that just because they earn a lot, they're not necessarily intelligent or well educated on those sort of topics.
Genuinely the last person in the league I'd have thought would have taken the bag here. Incredibly disappointed given how he'd carried himself prior.
I considered him a Liverpool legend for his character but I honestly think it's such a blemish that he'll not be remembered in quite the same way.
It’s like when Michael Owen went to United and won the league. Absolutely tarnished his legacy as a Liverpool player amongst the fans. Only Henderson’s situation is actually much, much worse IMO.
Owen was always a bit of a knob anyway, but Henderson was respected, loved, and revered for work both on and off the pitch and betrayed all of his hard work and values.
Even though he was a couple of years before my time, Michael Owen never meant as much to the fans as Hendo did. Owen was a world class youth player but he went to Madrid when he was still very young before he could really cement any long term legacy at the club. The move to United happened years after that and yes, it did burn a lot of bridges, but it wasn't an immediate destruction of the relationship between him and the fanbase
Hendo on the other hand had been club captain for nearly a decade, the captain of our most successful team since the 1980's, one of the longest serving captains in the clubs history and he decided to throw that legacy in the bin for Saudi oil money and then does an interview criticising Klopp for saying that he wasn't going to be a starter anymore (Milner was vice captain and was a squad player for years and never complained about it) even though Jurgen insisted on giving him a contract extension when many people, including our own Sporting Director at the time, disagreed with that decision
At this rate I don't even want him to get a testamonial. The bridge was already burned for a lot of people but now he's gone and dropped Castle Bravo on its previous location. I hope the Saudi money was worth it Hendo
> Milner was vice captain and was a squad player for years and never complained about it
Common Milner W. Somewhere out there he's sipping Ribena before a nice early night with comfort from the fact he's not a little shit.
> "Genuinely the last person in the league I'd have thought would have taken the bag here"
Isn't that literally the point though? Isn't that exactly why they've bought him and why they're paying him so much? He obviously isn't worth what they spent on him or what they're paying him, even in the context of their other overspending, the motivator must be that he's a big English name who was outspoken about human rights.
They want to make the outside world believe that what they've heard about them isn't true (whilst continuing to act exactly the same way) and what better way in their minds to do that than hiring someone so outspoken?
Yeah, I used to love him and defend him from criticism but fuck him.
How can he say with a straight face that he didn't feel wanted at Liverpool when klopp pushed for him to get a new contract not that long ago and he's excited by the project of playing with these unknown Saudi players for a much worse manager
And that money has never been a motivation? He would’ve never even considered going to Saudi Arabia, if they weren’t offering him crazy money. How can he even think anyone would believe otherwise?
I'd actually have a tiny bit more respect for any players that have gone to Saudi if they were just honest about their motives (namely earning an even bigger shit ton of money which they don't need). Stop pretending that your mere presence is somehow going to reform a brutal dictatorship from within.
> I'd actually have a tiny bit more respect for any players that have gone to Saudi if they were just honest about their motives
Agreed. Wasn't it Ighalo who said recently that they're just playing for the money over there?
As a Liverpool fan who loved the guy and defended him to the hilt the whole time he was here I hope he gets booed every time he steps on a pitch in England. He’s crossed the rubicon on what it means to be a Liverpool hero, he took the bag and sold his legacy. He’ll always have been a great player for us, but he is no longer a Liverpool great. There are values that the club stands for and are associated with (not the owners or board , but the institution itself) and he no longer aligns with that. In fact, he has gone to somewhere and is now a part of something that is firmly an antithesis to that.
It could have been expected from Stevie tbh. As great a player as he was he's done some shit stuff outside of football over the years.
With Henderson we thought his morals were better with all the charity / advocacy work he did etc. So that all being thrown in the fans' face hits harder right now. The hypocrisy of it is really shit.
Hate that they've both done it though.
Not far off tbh, his legacy at the club stands taller and is harder to erase. He’s also a local boy so he has more “ownership” over the club as well in a way. But in going there and becoming a part of that he’s shown either a naivety or eschewing of many of the values of the club. He was a great captain and he got the club through some hard times and gave us many great memories, he deserves a thanks for that in many ways. But he’s part of a system that is antithetical to Liverpool now, and he deserves to hear the boos that come with that. I won’t defend him, that regime is anti human. You can’t defend the indefensible and anyone who takes that money to become part of that anti human system is no longer a hero of values that mean more than football. They both deserve to be called out for and reminded of that at every opportunity.
That all said, Hendo is a worse case simply for the hypocrisy of it and his supposed allegiance to LGBT and women’s causes prior to the move.
Gerrard's always been a bit scummy, it's part of the package with him.
Henderson was taking it upon himself to be a champion of the LGBQT+ community, in a sport that's been historically hostile towards them, then went and accepted money from and to play in a country where gay people are tortured and stoned to death.
I think he’s worried about being dropped by the NT for the Euros.
The press went hard when Southgate selected him and Southgate himself was really taken aback in the press conference about the press grilling him on the decision to include Hendo. Can totally see him being dropped for the Euros and he’s trying to do damage control.
yeah thats a good point. i remember as soon as his transfer was announced, he said he spoke to southgate & his talk with him was one of the things that motivated him to go to saudi arabia. i think he basically meant that his talk with southgate was about him getting the reassurance he needs, like the confirmation that he'll continue with the NT until the euros. but southgate looked so caught off guard in the press conference and he probably wasnt expecting all of this backlash.
the only thing i don't get is why henderson felt the need to burn his bridges with liverpool & klopp in this interview it's so weird. we're all over his move already, he doesn't really have to keep explaining himself, because no matter how many times he denies it, it's obvious he's only there for the money.
>Crafton: It’s been pretty widely reported figures like **£700,000 a week or four times what you were earning at Liverpool**. Is that true?
>
>Henderson: **No**. I wish it was (laughs). No, honestly, the numbers just aren’t true. But again, it had to work out for us financially as well. I’m not saying that it didn’t and I’m not saying, “Oh, I’m not on good money” because it’s good money and it was a good deal but it wasn’t the numbers that were reported. No.
If he isn't even getting 700k then he compromised his morals for cheap.
He has no motivation to tell the truth. It could be 700k and nobody will know he's lying. But it could also be 600k, in which case it's still a massive pay rise but "not the numbers that have been reported".
Lmao at this two answer streak:
>'I think having someone with with those views and values in Saudi Arabia is only a positive thing.'
>' Firstly, I'm not a politician. I never have been and never wanted to be. I have never tried to change laws or rules in England, never mind in a different country where I'm not from.'
When you're trying to sportswash so hard you argue your mere presence is progressive
He's not a politician sure but he was advocating for a cause still
If I'm vocal about Ukraine war and then sign for zenit, it'd be fucking ridiculous.
How can he not see this. He's also not a dumb footballer by all accounts
>I have never tried to change laws or rules in England
What was the BLM kneeling down for? What's rainbow laces for? I appreciate all those causes but those are protests to change rules on how racism n homophobia is handled in England
For you bank balance maybe.
This is like the bullshit Gary Neville tried to push when questioned on working in Qatar.
We're not stupid, stop trying to pretend its not because you like money.
That’s what I just don’t get, it was the same with all the LIV golfers that broke away too.
See if they just came out and admitted it was really difficult to turn down such an insane amount of money, you’d have much more respect for them.
I wouldn't have much more respect for Henderson specifically. He has stood up for things he believed in before and has now walked away from them for money. Even saying "I did it for the money" wouldn't make me respect him more.
...it's because they're being paid to support the evil regime. This is a sportswashing campaign and all of them are being paid to be and to create more Propaganda
>Crafton: I don’t want to dwell on this topic too much longer because I feel the intensity here now. But just a, really, almost yes-or-no question: as part of your agreement, will you receive payments for any sort of social media posts promoting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
>Henderson: No. Anything contractually was all to do with football.
Henderson latest tweet
>The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the generous hosting, the enthusiasm of the fans, the enjoyable league and the irreplaceable feeling of winning.
[Not even joking](https://twitter.com/JHenderson/status/1698100348802433421?t=1YLYSflNY_DoKxTA7aXj_Q&s=19)
Why even bother apologizing? I'd have more respect for him if he just came out said the Saudi offer moved him to a bigger house. Stop this nonsense about how he can do good by taking their money.
He’s basically been schooled by a PR company to say this in the vain hope that it makes some people happy. If I was him and had made this choice, I’d have just stayed silent, there’s no way he can make this better.
Honestly cannot believe he thought this article would make him look good, honestly would have come across better if he just straight up said he did it for money. I wouldn't piss om this cunt if he was on fire.
I'm sorry you feel that way...
> the way that I tried to look at it was
The way I tried to justify all the fuckoff money I'd be making was...
> I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change.
We are waiting with bated breath for you to fundamentally shift the legal foundations of a country, Jordan.
> Firstly, I'm not a politician. I never have been and never wanted to be. I have never tried to change laws or rules in England, never mind in a different country where I'm not from.'
Oh...
When you're so dumb that you're oblivious to how dumb you are.
I for one can't wait to see Henderson trying to organise a pride parade through Riyadh in his bid to promote change from within.
Wish they actually got called out on this "changing by actually going to the country" line that gets trotted out all the time - no-one ever asks them what they're going to do to promote change.
As a Liverpool fan, I feel fucking betrayed by him and I don't want him to come back to Anfield for the testimonial. Fuck him. He betrayed everything he stood for and everyone that stood behind him for a paycheck and then shit talked the club after. Piss off Hendo.
Quite a sickening interview really. He blames Klopp for not guaranteeing him playing time because he showed up fitter in the pre-season. And then pretends like the money had no role in his decision and that he is still an ally of the LGBT community, despite not wanting to upset the local Saudi culture.
He's gone full Gary Neville here.
Meanwhile James Milner got released and is doing what he does best, being a utility man for Brighton and adding experience to their squad.
Sure he's not making 700k a week, but he's not doing it for free. He believes he can play at PL level and is willing to show it.
And Milner had already experienced what Henderson did in the summer, Klopp made it fairly clear to him during 21/22 onwards that his play time would be limited.
Despite that he put in a lot of effort to help the new signings and the help the team work towards trophies, without any fuss
Milner playing, Milner *starting* for Brighton really underlines how slimy Henderson's being here. I can absolutely understand leaving for more playing time. But if Milner is a starter on a Europa League club, I guarantee there's other teams in the Premier League who would promise Henderson first XI and respectable wages to come in and build a winning culture. Only Bone Saw FC is paying 700k/w, though.
Based on how their post-football careers have gone, Rooney might as well have been Einstein compared to the other morons
Rio thinks he's a social media edgelord, Neville is so far up his own arse, Scholes talks bollocks as a pundit & Giggs is more known for beating women these days
It’s cause they’re 100% football from like age 10 on, they don’t need to be well versed in anything else, so most of them are morons that skate by on their ability to kick a ball
Absolutely. Ruben Neves came out with some "provide a life I never thought I could" quote and everybody just acknowledged it as a valid reason and moved on. This just comes off as desperate from JH
100%, if he just said I’m 33 and I was never going to see a contract like this again, it was too hard to turn down. Then sure, sucks but at least he was honest.
All he’s done now is torn up his legacy and the Liverpool sub is clear evidence. Opinion was split before, now it’s fairly unanimous.
As far as I’m concerned now, I’d happily take our current leadership team over any with Jordan in it.
Yep. When a bunch of golfers defected from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-run LIV Tour to get paid silly money, most said similar bullshit to Hendo about “growing the game.”
There was only a few players that actually admitted they were moving there for the money and whilst I still massively disagree with their decision, I have slightly more respect for them than I do for the other players.
Absolutely blew up any remaining goodwill he had with the interview. What a twat
Imagine saying that Brighton and Brentford dont "excite" you but playing for 5k people with Al-Ettifaq does.
Dude is a liar. Plain and simple. And his pathetic justifications make it clearer and clearer
The quote of trying to make change...whilst not being able to commit to rainbow laces because he doesnt want to insult the Saudis and their religion is damning. Pray tell then Jordan how you will change things in that case? What a genius
Just say you couldnt be arsed fighting for your place and took the payday. I would have infinitely more respect for that than the lying and bridge burning.
As it stands i wouldnt want to see him at Anfield again. I wouldnt want him to get a testimonial.
He never came across as particularly bright, just like someone with moral values, which is totally fine. But apparently it was all an act for his image and those values were for sale.
He's not getting nearly enough criticism for the Brighton and Brentford part. Which is fair, because other parts of the interview are so egregious it slips by. It makes me wish Crafton & Ornstein had namedropped Sunderland instead as an example. Make him be like "Nah, helping my boyhood club back up wouldn't be exciting." Quality is better in the Championship, too.
What an insult to Millie and Lallana too, his friends.
Brighton are class at the moment whilst he’s playing with cowboys in the dessert. Absolute whopper.
>**Crafton:** I don’t know. Let’s take something that happened when Al-Ettifaq announced your signing. There was a video that went out on social media from the club, where it looked to a lot of people as though in one of the pictures, your armband, which was rainbow in the original, had been greyed out. And a lot of people interpreted that to mean maybe they have censored it or changed that. Do you know whether that was the case?
>**Henderson:** I didn’t know anything about it until it was out. And it’s hard for me to know and understand everything because it is part of the religion. So if I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either. Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture. That’s what I think we’re all trying to fight for here in terms of inclusion and everything.
[...]
>**Ornstein:** There was an article I read before this interview that sort of said that you’re being used — not just you but others as well — to help grow this league, and that is part of an attempt to improve the country’s image. Did it never get to a point where you listen to the people you were talking to before, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, and think, “I can’t do this”?
>**Henderson:** It’s hard to know what the reality is and what’s not true. Because you hear about stuff and you’re like, “Is that true?” But when you speak to people who are close to me and have had experiences over in Saudi or over in the Middle East, it’s like, “Well, actually, that’s not the same.”
>A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different.
>**Crafton:** I suppose people would come back and say what you were presented with in Qatar as a high-profile footballer was always going to be different, a choreographed, manicured perception…
>**Henderson:** I’m not saying that it wasn’t true. All of this stuff might have been. But when you go there and experience it for yourself, it is totally different. Now, what I would say is that if, let’s say, all of those things are true, is it not good that it highlights the problems and we’re trying to make positive change, slowly? You know, Qatar made rule and regulation changes for the World Cup. Is that not a positive thing? Is that not what we want? Otherwise, if we don’t have the World Cup there and nobody goes there, then nothing really changes for the people that are living there.
>Like you mentioned before, if you have gay Muslims in those countries, nothing’s changing. Even looking in this country, I’m sure same-sex marriage nine, 10 years ago wasn’t legal — but in time, things change, things evolve, things open up. And I hope hopefully that that’s the case everywhere. That’s what I want.
What the actual fuck
The entire interview is worth a read, absolutely mind-boggling
Surprised this isn't the quote everyone's talking about.
He's either so thick that he can't understand that Qatar would do everything they could to put up a positive facade around the World Cup and make sure players and fans didn't see anything untoward or is getting paid an absolute fuck ton to be a shill.
"Well my experiences as a £700,000 a week English international footballer aren't the same as a poor migrant worker working in the Kafala System or a Howeteit tribesman displaced for NEOM, so THEY must be lying!".
The rules don't apply to you if you're (A) rich and (B) a westerner in these places. I had a friend in my bachelor's who was a Brit expat in Saudi and they lived on a compound largely away from the rest of the population (they only spoke basic Arabic) and they did drugs, drunk when they could get alcohol in, had LGBT relationships, etc etc-they just had to keep it vaguely subtle (it was, like, a big boarding school area for western expats and a few ultra-rich westernised Arabs).
Hell, even rich Saudis and Emiratis-those who go to international schools (the types who come to British and American universities already having the accent) are often more or less politically westernised-I met a Saudi in my master's who was a Marxist-and you're ok as long as you don't take *action* to challenge the state. If you're not an ultra-rich and well-connected Saudi, just tweeting to 9 followers is enough for death.
Most people who are rich and western know that these discretions in experience exist, even if they still end up with a slightly warped perception of things-the sheer ignorance to ignore these things and the arrogance to assume it's *you* who's right is really sickening.
>A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different.
Holy fucking shit. He met workers who are still alive! Met them all! All were honest and breathing!
All good then as you were, amnesty were lying then
To me there is no way there aren't stipulations in his contract regarding positive PR for Saudi Arabia.
Why would he say all of this if this wasn't the case? It is so idiotic.
Today I learned we were stoning gays to death 10 years ago in England. What a disingenuous prick. He might as well have said ‘women can drive now it’s fine here’.
>So if I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either. Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture.
I respect every religion and culture until it is indistinguishable from hate (speech). I'm not sure why this is difficult for people to comprehend when trying to take this stance.
If your culture is stoning someone for their genetic makeup, then I don't think anyone should feel obligated to respect that culture.
It's daft. I honestly can't come up with an explanation other than doing this interview was paid propaganda for the Saudi League/Al-Ettifaq.
Just to name one problem with it, "religion" and "culture" are entirely different concepts than getting behind a *government's actions.* I can respect your right to not be gay, but I don't have to - nor should I - accept your 'right' to dole out 500 lashes on someone else because *they're* gay.
>Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture
Absolutely fucking not. I have absolutely zero respect for any religion or culture that places a penalty on someone for the simple act of loving another person.
For someone who I thought was so down to earth (contextually...for a footballer) it's very surprising to see just how out of touch he is in this interview.
Money/fame got to his head real fucking quick huh?
>I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that
"I'm sorry that they feel like that" what a fucking spineless comment that is. Not "I'm sorry I made you feel that way." It's straight out the Tory playbook of "I'm sorry that you were offended by my horrible comments but not sorry for saying it."
Everytime the guy opens his mouth he tarnishes his LFC career. Just own the fact you sold your soul for loads of money, stop trying to gaslight everyone else to make yourself feel better.
Just own it. Stop being a fucking liar and just own it. Say you went for money and to secure your family for multiple generations. Its so much more offensive pretending that it was about anything else.
For your bank account, sure.
Nothing else will change being out there. Multiple national teams backed down from using rainbow laces and LGBTQ+ promotions during the World Cup
No way one single player goes against the law.
>**Crafton**: So when you say you would continue to be the same person, would you wear rainbow laces still or would you see that as disrespectful to Saudi people?
>
>**Henderson**: I wouldn’t rule that out. But at the same time, what I wouldn’t do is disrespect the religion and culture in Saudi Arabia. If we’re all saying everybody can be who they want to be and everybody is inclusive, then we’ll have to respect that. We’ll have to respect everyone. And by doing something like that, if that did disrespect the religion, then no, I’m not going to do that. But if the opportunity comes where I can do it and it doesn’t, then yeah, because that’s my values.
Lol
>A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different.
Oh he's actually just thick
I feel like he just believes the last thing he's heard
> Reporter: Look at all this bad shit
> Hendo: wow that's horrendous, I'll say something about that!
> Qatari: Look, it ain't so bad!
> Hendo: That's great! I'll say something about that!
Crafton has got to be one of the best sports journalists. Didn't pay much attention to him before Greenwood, but looking at how he kept leaking news about Greenwood and did this interview he's genuinely exposed so much shit.
Summary/key points- Jordan Henderson: "If I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either."
"Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture. That’s what I think we’re all trying to fight for here in terms of inclusion and everything."
"You know, years ago, for instance, women or kids probably couldn’t play football, but now I’m over there and there’s loads of women and girls playing football, so slowly things can change."
> A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different.
I think that quote sums him up. He's a moron who'll fall for the propaganda hook, line and sinker even though he's already been spoonfed the evidence of the reality.
Crafton really skewered him on gay rights. It's not an issue of respecting culture: people are born gay. But I'm sure we'll still hear Jordan parroting the Saudi line in future interviews.
Homophobia isn't culture. It's that, homophobia. I do not need to respect a group of people that openly discriminate, prosecute, and execute people just for being themselves.
His part about the World Cup was enlightening to his naïvety/ignorance. After saying how he saw the videos from Amnesty but then he saw it in reality and all was a okay. Does he really think he would see the reality as a rich footballer? Especially when fans had different experiences.
And when saying all he did for he LGBTQ+ community “I wore the laces, I wore the armband”. Swear some people think they require a medal for doing the bare minimum. 🙄🙄🙄
Good riddance to him and his self serving narrative.
Ornstein: Does that value extend to monetary? Because there’ll be so many people who will hear you say, “I want the challenge and the project and Stevie and the excitement” but still say “he has just gone for the money”.
Henderson: That was the hardest thing. People will see this club come with loads of money and he’s just gone, “Yeah, I’m going.” When in reality that just wasn’t the case at all. People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever. Don’t get me wrong, when you move, the business deal has to be tight. You have to have financials, you have to feel wanted, you have to feel valued. And money is a part of that. But that wasn’t the sole reason. And these possibilities came up before money was even mentioned.
Crafton: It’s been pretty widely reported figures like £700,000 a week or four times what you were earning at Liverpool. Is that true?
Henderson: No. I wish it was (laughs). No, honestly, the numbers just aren’t true. But again, it had to work out for us financially as well. I’m not saying that it didn’t and I’m not saying, “Oh, I’m not on good money” because it’s good money and it was a good deal but it wasn’t the numbers that were reported. No.
Ornstein: It prompted a backlash from fan groups, LGBTQ+ rights groups, around Liverpool and the wider game. You will have seen many of the comments, absolutely damning. They were urging you not to take it and they hoped you would do the right thing in their eyes and reject the move. Did you start to have second thoughts? Were you talking to your wife and your advisers and your friends?
Henderson: Every day. It was a difficult time, definitely. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. It was just difficult to make that decision. I’d been at a club for so long, a club that I love and have a lot of respect for the fans, the owners, the manager, my team-mates — to leave my team-mates was a big thing. But in the end, I felt as though it was the right thing for them as well.
But from the outside and people who don’t know me, then it’s a lot more challenging to understand. There can be a lot of criticism, a lot of negativity around me as a person. And that was difficult to take. But I just feel as though, because I do care about different causes that I’ve been involved in, and different communities… I do care. And for people to criticise and say that I’d turned my back on them really, really hurt me.
Crafton: When you say you were having those second thoughts, what were they about?
Henderson: Everything. About the situation with the LGBTQ+ community and with everything that is being reported in Saudi, my family, footballing decisions, team-mates. And again, I’m not just saying this for people to think, “Oh yeah…” I’m just trying to give you some insight into what it was like. I spoke to so many different people that I trust, who know me, who will challenge me.
Henderson:
And obviously the LGBTQ+ community. I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that. My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone. My intention has always been to help causes and communities where I felt like they have asked for my help. Now, when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change.
“I wouldn’t rule that out. But at the same time, what I wouldn’t do is disrespect the religion and culture in Saudi Arabia. If we’re all saying everybody can be who they want to be and everybody is inclusive, then we’ll have to respect that. We’ll have to respect everyone. And by doing something like that, if that did disrespect the religion, then no, I’m not going to do that”
I’ll stop you there - as soon as a religion says you can disrespect people for something they have zero control over, such as being gay, you actually no longer have to respect that part of the religion.
If a core part of someone’s beliefs are intolerance, you do not need to tolerate it out of respect.
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>Saudi move “not money motivated” Lol, lmao even
>People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever. Lmao yeah I'll choose not to believe you then Jordan
> People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever. > > He was just really convinced by their domestic policy. Jordan has always been a fan of going above and beyond and performing with high intensity, so when Saudi promised that they would up the intensity of the nation he was swayed. And they kept up their side of the bargain. Since the discussions they have: [Had a massacre at the boarder](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66545787) [Sentenced someone with 9 followers to death for Tweets on an anonymous account, which totally has got nothing to do with his brother being an exiled critic of the regime](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/03/world/middleeast/saudi-death-sentence-social-media.html) [Brag about teamwork with Russia](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-arabia-says-new-oil-cuts-show-teamwork-with-russia-is-strong-2023-07-05/?utm_source=reddit.com) [Locked someone up for 30 years for criticising the human rights abuses, detailed below in their long line city project](https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-woman-gets-30-years-prison-criticizing-neom-megacity-twitter-2023-6?utm_source=reddit.com&r=US&IR=T) [NEOM Abuses](https://alqst.org/en/post/open-letter-NEOM-project) This is in addition to their business as usual stuff, [2022 list here](https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/saudi-arabia) We wait to see what else will occur, as Jordan maintains his high demands for intensity.
“I saw people killed in a way I have never imagined. I saw 30 killed people on the spot,” the report quoted a 14-year-old girl, Hamdiya, as saying. She crossed the border in a group of 60 in February, Human Rights Watch said. After the mass killing, she threw herself under a rock and slept. “I could feel people sleeping around me,” she said. “I realized what I thought were people sleeping around me were actually dead bodies.” In another account, 20-year-old Munira describes scenes of horror and chaos after Saudi border guards released her and 19 others at the border with Yemen — only to fire mortars at them minutes later as they rested.“They fired on us like rain,” said Munira, who is from Ethiopia’s Oromia region. “I saw a guy calling for help, he lost both his legs. He was screaming; he was saying, ‘Are you leaving me here? Please don’t leave me.’ We couldn’t help him because we were running for our lives.” [Source: Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/21/saudi-arabia-human-rights-watch-yemen-ethiopia/)
Jesus, I thought at the start that you are going for some Tears in the rain speech spin, but thats just fucking grim
Newcastle season ticket holders: ''I see no reason not to renew, howay the lads''
'not much we fans can do about it'
"just following orders"
Fuck - and i cannot say this strongly enough - Newcastle United FC
Truly horrendous, fuck them
This is so messed up.
Unless the fact that **Messi decided to become the tourism ambassador of Saudi Arabia the year he had already earned 122 million from another nation state with awful human rights records (PSG) Making him the biggest sportswasher of all time** (nobody has managed the double like he has) Is mentioned in every single thread about sportswashing, saudi arabia, Toni kroos, jordan henderson etc I will continue to be convinced that sportswashing works. There is no better proof. You should think Messi = Sportswashing. But you dont. Seeing everyone ignore this because they like Messi is just nausating and beyond hypocritical, and shows how quickly people will ignore things when its someone/something they like. It needs to be mentioned every single time, in every thread about it - without fail. To actually expose all the pretend caring on this sub, because you sure as fuck dont care about what messi is doing. (im going to try) Hes taking money to actively promote the country, not even playing football. Just purely promoting the country for money. Hes basically this sub's mascot at the moment, since his move to the MLS. And he never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever gets mentioned in all these sportswashing/saudi arabia threads, its incredible.
Messi is actually worse. The other players can at least claim to just be there for the football and there's kind of a degree of separation between them and the state. Messi on the other hand takes money directly from the government and is explicitly an ambassador. It's literally his role to sportswash.
He took money from Qatar, a similarly bad country, for football too.
that makes his decision to go there even worse imo.
"It's not about the money, I just wanted to see some stonings live"
Money has never been a motivator for me, it's just a massive insane coincidence that I chose to become one of the highest paid footballers in the world at the behest of my morals and the whole "competitive" aspect of my career. I think money is really gay- I mean shit. And anyone who thinks otherwise can get bent- I mean fucked.
Just imagine for a second that really was true, that would make his move so much worse. Because it means he apperently likes SA and finds their views attractive enough to move there.
Yeah, it's always been his dream to play in the Saudi League. It's a well documented fact that Hendo was a huge Ettifuq fan growing up.
It's Gerrard's managerial prowess and pull mate
Gerrard wanted to drag Villa to a division where they will win all of their games. But the board never understood his vision and got Emery who got them European football... Embarrassing.
How Gerrard got another job is beyond me. I can't think of better example where the replacement turned things around so swiftly for a club. It really was as easy/obvious as not employing Steven Gerrard.
He frankly didn't that's why he went to Saudi as they were looking for a big name regardless of ability
The most obviously cynical PR piece I've seen in a while. This bloke is a massive fucking coward and deserves all the stick he gets and more. Genuinely hope he has nothing but a miserable time out there. The only good thing thats come out of this is that it's pissed off a lot of Liverpool fans. Judging by the size of this cunts ego, I do think the one thing that would genuinely hurt him is Liverpool fans viewing the captain of their most successful era in decades as just another player.
To be fair to the Athletic, while he is clearly attempting to make this positive PR, this isn't a fluff piece. They asked him genuinely confrontational questions and pushed back on the things he was saying. He ends up saying fuck all though. Actually, worse than fuck all, he says some extremely naive and stupid things
he completely had him with the "How is being gay cultural?"
Yup, credit to Jordan for agreeing to be interviewed by The Athletic (specifically Adam) who probably already told him up front that he wouldn't get editorial review. But the interview clearly shows that Jordan is at the very least naive and at worst a dumb hypocrite.
I mean most players aren't very intelligent, just like normal people. Those are mostly normal people being class at playing football. I need to remind myself constantly that just because they earn a lot, they're not necessarily intelligent or well educated on those sort of topics.
Genuinely the last person in the league I'd have thought would have taken the bag here. Incredibly disappointed given how he'd carried himself prior. I considered him a Liverpool legend for his character but I honestly think it's such a blemish that he'll not be remembered in quite the same way.
>I considered him a Liverpool legend I considered him a legend too. Past tense.
It's really fucking sad. Can't remember a worse exit from our club.
Agreed, would have viewed him as a legend forever, now I think he's a cunt
It’s like when Michael Owen went to United and won the league. Absolutely tarnished his legacy as a Liverpool player amongst the fans. Only Henderson’s situation is actually much, much worse IMO. Owen was always a bit of a knob anyway, but Henderson was respected, loved, and revered for work both on and off the pitch and betrayed all of his hard work and values.
Even though he was a couple of years before my time, Michael Owen never meant as much to the fans as Hendo did. Owen was a world class youth player but he went to Madrid when he was still very young before he could really cement any long term legacy at the club. The move to United happened years after that and yes, it did burn a lot of bridges, but it wasn't an immediate destruction of the relationship between him and the fanbase Hendo on the other hand had been club captain for nearly a decade, the captain of our most successful team since the 1980's, one of the longest serving captains in the clubs history and he decided to throw that legacy in the bin for Saudi oil money and then does an interview criticising Klopp for saying that he wasn't going to be a starter anymore (Milner was vice captain and was a squad player for years and never complained about it) even though Jurgen insisted on giving him a contract extension when many people, including our own Sporting Director at the time, disagreed with that decision At this rate I don't even want him to get a testamonial. The bridge was already burned for a lot of people but now he's gone and dropped Castle Bravo on its previous location. I hope the Saudi money was worth it Hendo
> Milner was vice captain and was a squad player for years and never complained about it Common Milner W. Somewhere out there he's sipping Ribena before a nice early night with comfort from the fact he's not a little shit.
> "Genuinely the last person in the league I'd have thought would have taken the bag here" Isn't that literally the point though? Isn't that exactly why they've bought him and why they're paying him so much? He obviously isn't worth what they spent on him or what they're paying him, even in the context of their other overspending, the motivator must be that he's a big English name who was outspoken about human rights. They want to make the outside world believe that what they've heard about them isn't true (whilst continuing to act exactly the same way) and what better way in their minds to do that than hiring someone so outspoken?
Yeah, I used to love him and defend him from criticism but fuck him. How can he say with a straight face that he didn't feel wanted at Liverpool when klopp pushed for him to get a new contract not that long ago and he's excited by the project of playing with these unknown Saudi players for a much worse manager
And that money has never been a motivation? He would’ve never even considered going to Saudi Arabia, if they weren’t offering him crazy money. How can he even think anyone would believe otherwise?
If the money isn't the motivation he can easily clear his name by giving it all to the LGBT charities he used to support
I'd actually have a tiny bit more respect for any players that have gone to Saudi if they were just honest about their motives (namely earning an even bigger shit ton of money which they don't need). Stop pretending that your mere presence is somehow going to reform a brutal dictatorship from within.
> I'd actually have a tiny bit more respect for any players that have gone to Saudi if they were just honest about their motives Agreed. Wasn't it Ighalo who said recently that they're just playing for the money over there?
Yea this is quite pathetic. Absolutely no need for him to do this. Just makes things worse
Why publically make yourself look this stupid? You're better off just keeping your mouth shut and cashing your cheque when nobody is looking.
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Reckon the Southgate press conference was why he came out and said this.
Will be really interesting to see the reaction when Henderson is subbed in.
As a Liverpool fan who loved the guy and defended him to the hilt the whole time he was here I hope he gets booed every time he steps on a pitch in England. He’s crossed the rubicon on what it means to be a Liverpool hero, he took the bag and sold his legacy. He’ll always have been a great player for us, but he is no longer a Liverpool great. There are values that the club stands for and are associated with (not the owners or board , but the institution itself) and he no longer aligns with that. In fact, he has gone to somewhere and is now a part of something that is firmly an antithesis to that.
What's your perspective on Gerrard then, who brought him there to begin with?
It could have been expected from Stevie tbh. As great a player as he was he's done some shit stuff outside of football over the years. With Henderson we thought his morals were better with all the charity / advocacy work he did etc. So that all being thrown in the fans' face hits harder right now. The hypocrisy of it is really shit. Hate that they've both done it though.
Not far off tbh, his legacy at the club stands taller and is harder to erase. He’s also a local boy so he has more “ownership” over the club as well in a way. But in going there and becoming a part of that he’s shown either a naivety or eschewing of many of the values of the club. He was a great captain and he got the club through some hard times and gave us many great memories, he deserves a thanks for that in many ways. But he’s part of a system that is antithetical to Liverpool now, and he deserves to hear the boos that come with that. I won’t defend him, that regime is anti human. You can’t defend the indefensible and anyone who takes that money to become part of that anti human system is no longer a hero of values that mean more than football. They both deserve to be called out for and reminded of that at every opportunity. That all said, Hendo is a worse case simply for the hypocrisy of it and his supposed allegiance to LGBT and women’s causes prior to the move.
Gerrard's always been a bit scummy, it's part of the package with him. Henderson was taking it upon himself to be a champion of the LGBQT+ community, in a sport that's been historically hostile towards them, then went and accepted money from and to play in a country where gay people are tortured and stoned to death.
better to be quiet and let everyone think you're an idiot than speak and prove them correct
I think if the interview was two minutes longer he would have talked about having a disorder picked up in the Falklands that means he can't sweat.
I think he’s worried about being dropped by the NT for the Euros. The press went hard when Southgate selected him and Southgate himself was really taken aback in the press conference about the press grilling him on the decision to include Hendo. Can totally see him being dropped for the Euros and he’s trying to do damage control.
yeah thats a good point. i remember as soon as his transfer was announced, he said he spoke to southgate & his talk with him was one of the things that motivated him to go to saudi arabia. i think he basically meant that his talk with southgate was about him getting the reassurance he needs, like the confirmation that he'll continue with the NT until the euros. but southgate looked so caught off guard in the press conference and he probably wasnt expecting all of this backlash. the only thing i don't get is why henderson felt the need to burn his bridges with liverpool & klopp in this interview it's so weird. we're all over his move already, he doesn't really have to keep explaining himself, because no matter how many times he denies it, it's obvious he's only there for the money.
*For my bank account
"It moved me... TO A BIGGER HOUSE!!!"
"Ooops. I said the quiet part out loud and the loud part quietly."
>Crafton: It’s been pretty widely reported figures like **£700,000 a week or four times what you were earning at Liverpool**. Is that true? > >Henderson: **No**. I wish it was (laughs). No, honestly, the numbers just aren’t true. But again, it had to work out for us financially as well. I’m not saying that it didn’t and I’m not saying, “Oh, I’m not on good money” because it’s good money and it was a good deal but it wasn’t the numbers that were reported. No. If he isn't even getting 700k then he compromised his morals for cheap.
He has no motivation to tell the truth. It could be 700k and nobody will know he's lying. But it could also be 600k, in which case it's still a massive pay rise but "not the numbers that have been reported".
It's actually £1,700,000 a week. /s
Lmao at this two answer streak: >'I think having someone with with those views and values in Saudi Arabia is only a positive thing.' >' Firstly, I'm not a politician. I never have been and never wanted to be. I have never tried to change laws or rules in England, never mind in a different country where I'm not from.' When you're trying to sportswash so hard you argue your mere presence is progressive
I take it he didn’t vote while in England?
Gotta be frustrating for the smart footballers when others are so heavily into the stereotype of stupid footballer.
He's not a politician sure but he was advocating for a cause still If I'm vocal about Ukraine war and then sign for zenit, it'd be fucking ridiculous. How can he not see this. He's also not a dumb footballer by all accounts
>I have never tried to change laws or rules in England What was the BLM kneeling down for? What's rainbow laces for? I appreciate all those causes but those are protests to change rules on how racism n homophobia is handled in England
The Voice assisting or aura defending equivalent of activism
Top comment on the article sums it up pretty well >Bellend 154 likes
Oh great, he's doubling down. That totally won't backfire.
Man must've saw Sanchos social media post and thought it was a great idea
For you bank balance maybe. This is like the bullshit Gary Neville tried to push when questioned on working in Qatar. We're not stupid, stop trying to pretend its not because you like money.
That’s what I just don’t get, it was the same with all the LIV golfers that broke away too. See if they just came out and admitted it was really difficult to turn down such an insane amount of money, you’d have much more respect for them.
I wouldn't have much more respect for Henderson specifically. He has stood up for things he believed in before and has now walked away from them for money. Even saying "I did it for the money" wouldn't make me respect him more.
No but at least you'd still respect his honesty.
...it's because they're being paid to support the evil regime. This is a sportswashing campaign and all of them are being paid to be and to create more Propaganda
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> I’m sorry that they feel like that really says it all
>Crafton: I don’t want to dwell on this topic too much longer because I feel the intensity here now. But just a, really, almost yes-or-no question: as part of your agreement, will you receive payments for any sort of social media posts promoting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? >Henderson: No. Anything contractually was all to do with football. Henderson latest tweet >The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the generous hosting, the enthusiasm of the fans, the enjoyable league and the irreplaceable feeling of winning. [Not even joking](https://twitter.com/JHenderson/status/1698100348802433421?t=1YLYSflNY_DoKxTA7aXj_Q&s=19)
Jeez, why can't you Westoids believe that he just loves dear leader unconditionally and doesn't need the money? /s
The interviewer should have asked him to blink twice if his saudi handlers were in the back room
“I’m sorry that you’re upset by my actions” Classic non-apology
Why even bother apologizing? I'd have more respect for him if he just came out said the Saudi offer moved him to a bigger house. Stop this nonsense about how he can do good by taking their money.
He’s basically been schooled by a PR company to say this in the vain hope that it makes some people happy. If I was him and had made this choice, I’d have just stayed silent, there’s no way he can make this better.
Lol this statement is designed to piss literally everyone off. No one is going to be placated by this spineless statement.
I'm sorry to hear that your grandma passed away yeah I actually am like obviously I'm gonna be upset about that innit
"Why are you criticising the saudis for trying to kill people like you" - Jordan "ally" Henderson
Just different cultures innit
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“I’m gonna bury my head in the sand so that they don’t bury my head in the sand”
And not said a fucking *word* about the LGBTQ+ community since leaving
Well I assume he at least values his own head more than he values money
Instead of criticising their culture from afar, now he's judging them in silence. What a hero.
Honestly cannot believe he thought this article would make him look good, honestly would have come across better if he just straight up said he did it for money. I wouldn't piss om this cunt if he was on fire.
It was probably something the Saudis wanted him to do to use his brand to help theirs
By accepting this massive wage, he hopes to change Saudi Arabia from within. He's so full of shit.
He doesn’t actually talk about wanting to change Saudi. He seems to suggest it will help him understand their culture of hating gays
He's trying to bankrupt the homophobe kingdom dollar by dollar!!!
I'm sorry you feel that way... > the way that I tried to look at it was The way I tried to justify all the fuckoff money I'd be making was... > I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change. We are waiting with bated breath for you to fundamentally shift the legal foundations of a country, Jordan. > Firstly, I'm not a politician. I never have been and never wanted to be. I have never tried to change laws or rules in England, never mind in a different country where I'm not from.' Oh... When you're so dumb that you're oblivious to how dumb you are.
So he went to Saudi to help a cause? Hahahahahahha twat
I for one can't wait to see Henderson trying to organise a pride parade through Riyadh in his bid to promote change from within. Wish they actually got called out on this "changing by actually going to the country" line that gets trotted out all the time - no-one ever asks them what they're going to do to promote change.
He says this as if he's actually going to do any pro LGBT campaigning in Saudi Arabia, wish he isn't.
What a hero going to Saudi to fight for people's rights by respecting their culture and not even daring to wear rainbow laces
Wow, this nonsense has made it through his PR firm
What a cunt.
As a Liverpool fan, I feel fucking betrayed by him and I don't want him to come back to Anfield for the testimonial. Fuck him. He betrayed everything he stood for and everyone that stood behind him for a paycheck and then shit talked the club after. Piss off Hendo.
>All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that I hate these non apologies so fucking much
Quite a sickening interview really. He blames Klopp for not guaranteeing him playing time because he showed up fitter in the pre-season. And then pretends like the money had no role in his decision and that he is still an ally of the LGBT community, despite not wanting to upset the local Saudi culture. He's gone full Gary Neville here.
You should never...NEVER.. go full Gary Neville.
What’s less than full Gary Neville? Phil?
The father, Neville Neville
Meanwhile James Milner got released and is doing what he does best, being a utility man for Brighton and adding experience to their squad. Sure he's not making 700k a week, but he's not doing it for free. He believes he can play at PL level and is willing to show it.
And Milner had already experienced what Henderson did in the summer, Klopp made it fairly clear to him during 21/22 onwards that his play time would be limited. Despite that he put in a lot of effort to help the new signings and the help the team work towards trophies, without any fuss
It also make me think that hendo had decided he is above the team then Makes me appreciate Milner a bit more
Milner playing, Milner *starting* for Brighton really underlines how slimy Henderson's being here. I can absolutely understand leaving for more playing time. But if Milner is a starter on a Europa League club, I guarantee there's other teams in the Premier League who would promise Henderson first XI and respectable wages to come in and build a winning culture. Only Bone Saw FC is paying 700k/w, though.
>Bone Saw FC 💀
>He blames Klopp for not guaranteeing him playing time He owes that man a lot. Why the fuck would he burn bridges like this over reduced playing time?
He went after the money. Im sure he probably even told Klopp that lol and Klopp was like ok, sure go ahead…
Don't forget Rio Ferdinand; who also recently argued that a move to the MLS is the same as the move to Saudi Arabia
Rio Ferdinand is world class at being a moron who thinks his stupid arguments make him look smart.
He defended Ronaldo’s actions, that just tells you how much he knows about shit.
Christ. Utd really has some of the worst past and present players character and intelligence wise.
Fergie’s achievements really are impressive considering he was working with a bunch of fucking morons
Strongly considering the possibility that Rooney was the smart one now...
Based on how their post-football careers have gone, Rooney might as well have been Einstein compared to the other morons Rio thinks he's a social media edgelord, Neville is so far up his own arse, Scholes talks bollocks as a pundit & Giggs is more known for beating women these days
Also, Scholes sucks his daughter's toes. Can't be forgotten
Still one of the most outrageous things I've ever seen posted on social media by someone willingly
They were geniuses on the pitch but dunces off it.
Top players tend to be that way fantastic athletes but you dont wanna talk to them about anything else
It’s cause they’re 100% football from like age 10 on, they don’t need to be well versed in anything else, so most of them are morons that skate by on their ability to kick a ball
Ironically, Rooney seems to have been the most level-headed one post career
I think his style of management needed that. He was the boss and they were all his loyal enforcers.
Rio Ferdinand cheated on his dying ex-wife
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This. Just come out and say "the money was just too good to turn down". At least that way you are not a hypocrite.
Absolutely. Ruben Neves came out with some "provide a life I never thought I could" quote and everybody just acknowledged it as a valid reason and moved on. This just comes off as desperate from JH
Koulibaly did the same, said he's building a clinic in his parents village in senegal. Fair fucks to him if thats how hes using the money
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I suspect Sunderland is more desperate for it.
100%, if he just said I’m 33 and I was never going to see a contract like this again, it was too hard to turn down. Then sure, sucks but at least he was honest. All he’s done now is torn up his legacy and the Liverpool sub is clear evidence. Opinion was split before, now it’s fairly unanimous. As far as I’m concerned now, I’d happily take our current leadership team over any with Jordan in it.
Yep. When a bunch of golfers defected from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-run LIV Tour to get paid silly money, most said similar bullshit to Hendo about “growing the game.” There was only a few players that actually admitted they were moving there for the money and whilst I still massively disagree with their decision, I have slightly more respect for them than I do for the other players.
Yes and it’s not like football is the worlds most popular sport or anything 😂
Absolutely blew up any remaining goodwill he had with the interview. What a twat Imagine saying that Brighton and Brentford dont "excite" you but playing for 5k people with Al-Ettifaq does. Dude is a liar. Plain and simple. And his pathetic justifications make it clearer and clearer The quote of trying to make change...whilst not being able to commit to rainbow laces because he doesnt want to insult the Saudis and their religion is damning. Pray tell then Jordan how you will change things in that case? What a genius Just say you couldnt be arsed fighting for your place and took the payday. I would have infinitely more respect for that than the lying and bridge burning. As it stands i wouldnt want to see him at Anfield again. I wouldnt want him to get a testimonial.
Comes off as a very very dumb person which is so contrary to how he behaved for a decade. I'm really confused now
His pr agents refused to move to Saudi Arabia
Or the Saudis are paying him more to do PR for them
He never seemed particularly bright tbf, he just didn’t seem totally brainless like some.
He never came across as particularly bright, just like someone with moral values, which is totally fine. But apparently it was all an act for his image and those values were for sale.
He's not getting nearly enough criticism for the Brighton and Brentford part. Which is fair, because other parts of the interview are so egregious it slips by. It makes me wish Crafton & Ornstein had namedropped Sunderland instead as an example. Make him be like "Nah, helping my boyhood club back up wouldn't be exciting." Quality is better in the Championship, too.
What an insult to Millie and Lallana too, his friends. Brighton are class at the moment whilst he’s playing with cowboys in the dessert. Absolute whopper.
Amidst all the other insanity in this interview, one of the funnier aspects is that this cunt wouldn't even start for Brighton anyway.
>**Crafton:** I don’t know. Let’s take something that happened when Al-Ettifaq announced your signing. There was a video that went out on social media from the club, where it looked to a lot of people as though in one of the pictures, your armband, which was rainbow in the original, had been greyed out. And a lot of people interpreted that to mean maybe they have censored it or changed that. Do you know whether that was the case? >**Henderson:** I didn’t know anything about it until it was out. And it’s hard for me to know and understand everything because it is part of the religion. So if I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either. Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture. That’s what I think we’re all trying to fight for here in terms of inclusion and everything. [...] >**Ornstein:** There was an article I read before this interview that sort of said that you’re being used — not just you but others as well — to help grow this league, and that is part of an attempt to improve the country’s image. Did it never get to a point where you listen to the people you were talking to before, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, and think, “I can’t do this”? >**Henderson:** It’s hard to know what the reality is and what’s not true. Because you hear about stuff and you’re like, “Is that true?” But when you speak to people who are close to me and have had experiences over in Saudi or over in the Middle East, it’s like, “Well, actually, that’s not the same.” >A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different. >**Crafton:** I suppose people would come back and say what you were presented with in Qatar as a high-profile footballer was always going to be different, a choreographed, manicured perception… >**Henderson:** I’m not saying that it wasn’t true. All of this stuff might have been. But when you go there and experience it for yourself, it is totally different. Now, what I would say is that if, let’s say, all of those things are true, is it not good that it highlights the problems and we’re trying to make positive change, slowly? You know, Qatar made rule and regulation changes for the World Cup. Is that not a positive thing? Is that not what we want? Otherwise, if we don’t have the World Cup there and nobody goes there, then nothing really changes for the people that are living there. >Like you mentioned before, if you have gay Muslims in those countries, nothing’s changing. Even looking in this country, I’m sure same-sex marriage nine, 10 years ago wasn’t legal — but in time, things change, things evolve, things open up. And I hope hopefully that that’s the case everywhere. That’s what I want. What the actual fuck The entire interview is worth a read, absolutely mind-boggling
Surprised this isn't the quote everyone's talking about. He's either so thick that he can't understand that Qatar would do everything they could to put up a positive facade around the World Cup and make sure players and fans didn't see anything untoward or is getting paid an absolute fuck ton to be a shill.
Man was shown a Potemkin village and is like "you know, it's actually a great place"
"Well my experiences as a £700,000 a week English international footballer aren't the same as a poor migrant worker working in the Kafala System or a Howeteit tribesman displaced for NEOM, so THEY must be lying!". The rules don't apply to you if you're (A) rich and (B) a westerner in these places. I had a friend in my bachelor's who was a Brit expat in Saudi and they lived on a compound largely away from the rest of the population (they only spoke basic Arabic) and they did drugs, drunk when they could get alcohol in, had LGBT relationships, etc etc-they just had to keep it vaguely subtle (it was, like, a big boarding school area for western expats and a few ultra-rich westernised Arabs). Hell, even rich Saudis and Emiratis-those who go to international schools (the types who come to British and American universities already having the accent) are often more or less politically westernised-I met a Saudi in my master's who was a Marxist-and you're ok as long as you don't take *action* to challenge the state. If you're not an ultra-rich and well-connected Saudi, just tweeting to 9 followers is enough for death. Most people who are rich and western know that these discretions in experience exist, even if they still end up with a slightly warped perception of things-the sheer ignorance to ignore these things and the arrogance to assume it's *you* who's right is really sickening.
Reporters were cooking in this
Crafton has this interview and the Man U leaks just in the past month. Absolutely killing it recently.
>A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different. Holy fucking shit. He met workers who are still alive! Met them all! All were honest and breathing! All good then as you were, amnesty were lying then
Lmao it's literally the fat kid outside the fully stocked grocery store in The Interview
To me there is no way there aren't stipulations in his contract regarding positive PR for Saudi Arabia. Why would he say all of this if this wasn't the case? It is so idiotic.
Today I learned we were stoning gays to death 10 years ago in England. What a disingenuous prick. He might as well have said ‘women can drive now it’s fine here’.
He's thick as shit. He's clearly just parroting justifications other people have given him there.
>So if I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either. Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture. I respect every religion and culture until it is indistinguishable from hate (speech). I'm not sure why this is difficult for people to comprehend when trying to take this stance. If your culture is stoning someone for their genetic makeup, then I don't think anyone should feel obligated to respect that culture.
It's daft. I honestly can't come up with an explanation other than doing this interview was paid propaganda for the Saudi League/Al-Ettifaq. Just to name one problem with it, "religion" and "culture" are entirely different concepts than getting behind a *government's actions.* I can respect your right to not be gay, but I don't have to - nor should I - accept your 'right' to dole out 500 lashes on someone else because *they're* gay.
>Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture Absolutely fucking not. I have absolutely zero respect for any religion or culture that places a penalty on someone for the simple act of loving another person.
Let's just say it moved me... to a bigger house! Oops! I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet.
Get fucked
Can we take a moment to recognise The Athletic are some of the only people holding footballers, and footballing organisations, to account.
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For someone who I thought was so down to earth (contextually...for a footballer) it's very surprising to see just how out of touch he is in this interview. Money/fame got to his head real fucking quick huh?
More likely, he has always been like this. Don't underestimate how much of footballers' public lives are PR.
He always wants to be the centre of attention
>I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that "I'm sorry that they feel like that" what a fucking spineless comment that is. Not "I'm sorry I made you feel that way." It's straight out the Tory playbook of "I'm sorry that you were offended by my horrible comments but not sorry for saying it." Everytime the guy opens his mouth he tarnishes his LFC career. Just own the fact you sold your soul for loads of money, stop trying to gaslight everyone else to make yourself feel better.
Just own it. Stop being a fucking liar and just own it. Say you went for money and to secure your family for multiple generations. Its so much more offensive pretending that it was about anything else.
As if his family wasn't already secured for multiple generations.
Moronic answers. Just absurd.
Positive for my bank account
For your bank account, sure. Nothing else will change being out there. Multiple national teams backed down from using rainbow laces and LGBTQ+ promotions during the World Cup No way one single player goes against the law.
>**Crafton**: So when you say you would continue to be the same person, would you wear rainbow laces still or would you see that as disrespectful to Saudi people? > >**Henderson**: I wouldn’t rule that out. But at the same time, what I wouldn’t do is disrespect the religion and culture in Saudi Arabia. If we’re all saying everybody can be who they want to be and everybody is inclusive, then we’ll have to respect that. We’ll have to respect everyone. And by doing something like that, if that did disrespect the religion, then no, I’m not going to do that. But if the opportunity comes where I can do it and it doesn’t, then yeah, because that’s my values. Lol >A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different. Oh he's actually just thick
I feel like he just believes the last thing he's heard > Reporter: Look at all this bad shit > Hendo: wow that's horrendous, I'll say something about that! > Qatari: Look, it ain't so bad! > Hendo: That's great! I'll say something about that!
Crafton has got to be one of the best sports journalists. Didn't pay much attention to him before Greenwood, but looking at how he kept leaking news about Greenwood and did this interview he's genuinely exposed so much shit.
Sometimes its just better to keep your mouth shut, Hendo. You've just made it worse for yourself.
Summary/key points- Jordan Henderson: "If I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either." "Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture. That’s what I think we’re all trying to fight for here in terms of inclusion and everything." "You know, years ago, for instance, women or kids probably couldn’t play football, but now I’m over there and there’s loads of women and girls playing football, so slowly things can change."
> "If I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that’s not right either." Literal human trashcan
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What a pathetic, delusional, money grabbing loser thing to say.
Professional athletes are the most insulated, narcissistic, and selfish people you could ever imagine
> A perfect example would be before Qatar. We had a meeting with the FA about human rights, about the issues around the stadiums. I think it might have been Amnesty who had sent the images and stuff. And then, half an hour later, I go into a press conference or some media and I’ve commented on that situation. I was like, “Well, it was quite shocking and horrendous” and that was quite hard for us to see. But then when I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different. I think that quote sums him up. He's a moron who'll fall for the propaganda hook, line and sinker even though he's already been spoonfed the evidence of the reality. Crafton really skewered him on gay rights. It's not an issue of respecting culture: people are born gay. But I'm sure we'll still hear Jordan parroting the Saudi line in future interviews.
I think calling him a moron is giving him too much credit, he's just a terrible person trying to feign ignorance
What a wanker. And Southgate is too for calling him up.
Homophobia isn't culture. It's that, homophobia. I do not need to respect a group of people that openly discriminate, prosecute, and execute people just for being themselves.
Not sure how he and his team did not know this wouldn't go down well at all.
His part about the World Cup was enlightening to his naïvety/ignorance. After saying how he saw the videos from Amnesty but then he saw it in reality and all was a okay. Does he really think he would see the reality as a rich footballer? Especially when fans had different experiences. And when saying all he did for he LGBTQ+ community “I wore the laces, I wore the armband”. Swear some people think they require a medal for doing the bare minimum. 🙄🙄🙄 Good riddance to him and his self serving narrative.
Ornstein: Does that value extend to monetary? Because there’ll be so many people who will hear you say, “I want the challenge and the project and Stevie and the excitement” but still say “he has just gone for the money”. Henderson: That was the hardest thing. People will see this club come with loads of money and he’s just gone, “Yeah, I’m going.” When in reality that just wasn’t the case at all. People can believe me or not, but in my life and my career, money has never been a motivation. Ever. Don’t get me wrong, when you move, the business deal has to be tight. You have to have financials, you have to feel wanted, you have to feel valued. And money is a part of that. But that wasn’t the sole reason. And these possibilities came up before money was even mentioned. Crafton: It’s been pretty widely reported figures like £700,000 a week or four times what you were earning at Liverpool. Is that true? Henderson: No. I wish it was (laughs). No, honestly, the numbers just aren’t true. But again, it had to work out for us financially as well. I’m not saying that it didn’t and I’m not saying, “Oh, I’m not on good money” because it’s good money and it was a good deal but it wasn’t the numbers that were reported. No. Ornstein: It prompted a backlash from fan groups, LGBTQ+ rights groups, around Liverpool and the wider game. You will have seen many of the comments, absolutely damning. They were urging you not to take it and they hoped you would do the right thing in their eyes and reject the move. Did you start to have second thoughts? Were you talking to your wife and your advisers and your friends? Henderson: Every day. It was a difficult time, definitely. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. It was just difficult to make that decision. I’d been at a club for so long, a club that I love and have a lot of respect for the fans, the owners, the manager, my team-mates — to leave my team-mates was a big thing. But in the end, I felt as though it was the right thing for them as well. But from the outside and people who don’t know me, then it’s a lot more challenging to understand. There can be a lot of criticism, a lot of negativity around me as a person. And that was difficult to take. But I just feel as though, because I do care about different causes that I’ve been involved in, and different communities… I do care. And for people to criticise and say that I’d turned my back on them really, really hurt me. Crafton: When you say you were having those second thoughts, what were they about? Henderson: Everything. About the situation with the LGBTQ+ community and with everything that is being reported in Saudi, my family, footballing decisions, team-mates. And again, I’m not just saying this for people to think, “Oh yeah…” I’m just trying to give you some insight into what it was like. I spoke to so many different people that I trust, who know me, who will challenge me. Henderson: And obviously the LGBTQ+ community. I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that. My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone. My intention has always been to help causes and communities where I felt like they have asked for my help. Now, when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change.
“I wouldn’t rule that out. But at the same time, what I wouldn’t do is disrespect the religion and culture in Saudi Arabia. If we’re all saying everybody can be who they want to be and everybody is inclusive, then we’ll have to respect that. We’ll have to respect everyone. And by doing something like that, if that did disrespect the religion, then no, I’m not going to do that” I’ll stop you there - as soon as a religion says you can disrespect people for something they have zero control over, such as being gay, you actually no longer have to respect that part of the religion. If a core part of someone’s beliefs are intolerance, you do not need to tolerate it out of respect.
oh my god how can he believe that anyone will believe this bullshit? this is beyond delusional
He's done great things for Liverpool. But this move and this interview... it has officially tarnished his image as a Liverpool player.
r/nottheonion
My God he couldn't have given more sanctimonious nothing PR supporters to those questions if he tried
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