Former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson bizarrely labelled 'one of the best signings' by Saudi Pro League chief despite disastrous six-month spell at Al-Ettifaq

Henderson controversially joined Al-Ettifaq from Liverpool last year, signing a lucrative deal with the Middle Eastern club. He had his contract terminated in January, however, allowing him to make the switch to Dutch giants Ajax. Still, the league’s vice-chairman, Saad Al Lazeez, says the English midfielder was a top signing.

Lazeez said at the the Financial Times Business of Football Summit: “Jordan Henderson, even though he left, was one of the best signings in the Saudi Pro League. We signed 93 players in the summer window, and I would say 28 to 30 of them would be in anybody’s list of the top 300 players, and you don’t expect all of them to stay. Sometimes things do not work out, sometimes the player does not adapt, you expect those things to happen."

He added: "I still maintain Jordan Henderson was one of our best signings, we benefited a great deal from his signing, we’re learning a lot of lessons and we will continue to grow from there. We have been with Jordan throughout his journey from the day we signed him in the UK. We still maintain a good relationship with him. He’s a great guy, a great person. It just did not work out. So that’s life."

Henderson's move to Saudi Arabia proved controversial in his homeland, as he was booed by England fans during international matches. He also faced criticism from the LGBTQ+ community and he apologised after leaving the country.

He said: "If any people from that community feel let down or hurt I apologise. If anyone was offended or feel as though I upset them, that's on me, that was my decision and I apologise for that. It was never my intention."

Henderson has made four appearances for Ajax but was left out of their last two matches after dealing with a knock. He could be in action again on Sunday when the Amsterdam club host Utrecht in the Eredivisie.