Jordan Henderson smiles as he lands in Amsterdam to seal Ajax transfer after just six months in Saudi Arabia
JORDAN HENDERSON has landed in Amsterdam as he prepares to join Ajax and end his stint with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq after just six months.
The former Liverpool captain, 33, is set to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Dutch giants.
Jordan Henderson has arrived in Amsterdam
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 18, 2024pic.twitter.com/2zChreHA3n
And Sky Sports filmed him coming out of Amsterdam Airport as he headed to the Dutch giants to complete the deal.
Henderson smiled for the cameras ahead of his switch to the Eredivisie.
He has agreed to pay his way out of his lucrative £700,000-a-week contract in order to make the switch.
It means he is not set to earn any money from his time in Saudi Arabia.
And he is taking a near-90 PER CENT pay cut to secure the transfer as he will reportedly earn just £77,000 a week at Ajax before tax – excluding bonuses.
That is less than he was earning at Liverpool and a world away from the £700,000 he was collecting every seven days from Al-Ettifaq – before he decided to walk away.
But he will still become the highest earner at Ajax as they bid to recover from a nightmare start to the season that saw them facing a battle with relegation at one point.
They now sit fifth in the Eredivisie, but their chances of a title push have already gone as PSV are 23 points above them, having not dropped a single point.
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Henderson is thought to have struggled to adapt to life in the Middle East since leaving England in the summer.
He was heavily criticised by LGBTQ+ groups for his controversial £12million switch, with Saudi Arabia known for its poor human rights record.
Al-Ettifaq, who are not one of the four state-owned clubs in the Saudi Pro League, are languishing in eighth place in the table.
They are also on a nine-game winless run, scoring just three goals.
Yet despite those poor results, manager Steven Gerrard signed a two-year contract extension hours before Henderson landed in Amsterdam.
The new deal will keep the Liverpool icon in Saudi until 2027.
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