Ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson makes shock admission about Saudi Pro League transfer after quitting Al-Ettifaq and moving to Ajax

The England international, who had been club captain at Anfield, joined the mass exodus of talent leaving Europe for the Middle East when completing a £12 million ($15m) transfer. Henderson attracted plenty of criticism for that big career call and ended up cutting his time in Dammam short after just six months when agreeing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Ajax.

Henderson has now told Parool of why he was wrong to head for Saudi Arabia, despite reportedly pulling in £350,000-a-week: “I now realise that football runs through my blood. The Saudi league is developing but it doesn’t suit me, I made a mistake going there. I am happy here at the Ajax project.”

While Henderson concedes that he made the wrong decision, he has no regrets. He said at his official Ajax unveiling in January: “Looking back at the time, it was a big decision and one I felt was right for me. Things change quickly in football and I'm happy to make this decision (to come to Ajax) and I felt this opportunity was too big to turn down for me. In life, if you want to call them regrets or mistakes you can, but they're only mistakes if you don't learn from them and I learnt a lot of things about Saudi. I haven't got a bad word to say about anyone. I have friends over there I'll speak to forever and there were still positives to come out of it. In the end it didn't turn out way we both wanted to, but it ended on great terms.”

Henderson has already taken on captaincy duties at Ajax, as his vast experience is put to good use, but he is finding positive results hard to come by with the Eredivisie giants and has been involved in just one win through seven appearances in all competitions.