Jordan Henderson branded an 'actor' after furious exchange with journalists over alleged failed attempt to quit Ajax & force Monaco transfer

It was reported last week that the midfielder wanted Ajax to let him leave to join Monaco but the Dutch side were not open to a sale. Henderson is said to have initially refused to play against Galatasaray in the Europa League last week, De Telegraaf claims, but ended up starting in the 2-1 win, though he gave his captain's armband to goalkeeper Remko Pasveer before kick-off.

Henderson was captain again for Ajax's victory against rivals Feyenoord on Sunday and he took a defiant stance when he discussed the speculation, getting involved in a near 10-minute long argument.

"A lot of things were taken out of context in the press. That was disrespectful, they were lies. Untruths were told about me as a person," he said to ESPN.

However, journalist Valentijn Driessen has launched a scathing criticism of the 34-year-old in a column in De Telegraaf, accusing the former Liverpool star of being "cheap" by mentioning his family and criticising his move to Saudi Arabia despite his advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

"Jordan Henderson employed the tried-and-true recipe of his status as a top footballer and imagined image to save face after his immature behavior last week at Ajax-Galatasaray," Driessen wrote. "He came out with a frontal counter-attack after the Klassieker win - in the spirit of the play of opposing Ajax - and told that 99% of all stories about a transfer to AS Monaco forced by him were lies.

"That was still the biggest lie of all. When questioned at the press conference afterwards, he hid behind details about which he did not want to go public. Realising that it would greatly undermine his defence."

On Henderson's LGBTQ+ advocacy, he added later: "When he was told by Jurgen Klopp not to play in the starting line-up every game anymore, he did not choose an English club or his childhood sweetheart Sunderland, but left for Saudi Arabia for the big money. The very country where no one from the LGBTQ community is sure of his or her life. When Henderson had pocketed enough petrodollars, he chose not to return to the UK. Just to avoid a huge huge tax bill. To avoid being on the radar of the English tax authorities, his choice fell to Ajax. In addition to a huge signing bonus, he receives a top salary of more than €4.5 million gross. However, in the tax haven of Monaco, at local football club AS, he could receive Ajax's gross salary net and that was worth a forced break to the model pro Henderson."

Driessen wrapped up with: "Henderson is not the person he wants to be. He's an actor, a bad one too."

With Henderson set to stay until the end of the season, he will hope to help fire Ajax to the Eredivisie title. While his contract expires in the summer of 2026, the club and midfielder will likely review his future once the current campaign ends.