Is Jordan Henderson’s wife driving desire to leave Saudi Arabia? One former Liverpool captain assesses why another wants out of Al-Ettifaq after six months

One former Liverpool captain moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, with a lucrative contract in the Middle East seeing him link up with ex-Anfield team-mate Steven Gerrard. Henderson has found the going tough, with positive results in short supply, and the England international is said to already be looking for a move elsewhere.

Another former Liverpool skipper, Reds legend Souness, has told talkSPORT of why Henderson is feeling restless: “He would have known about the climate in Saudi Arabia, and known he was going to a much inferior league given the Premier League is best one out there. I would imagine if they were top of the league and he was being well received as the player they thought they were getting, we would not be talking about this. I think it is a combination of him having a miserable time, and because the club has underachieved.”

Souness added on the family issues that could be driving Henderson’s desire to leave Saudi Arabia: “Could I deal with the heat? Yes. Could I deal with losing every week? Yes. The one thing I could not take, was if my wife was not there, I would be like ‘I just can’t do this’. I am second guessing, but if she is still living in Cheshire somewhere, and that is what is driving it, that is a whole different argument. The other two I could deal with, I am not sure I could deal with my wife telling me I can’t live here.”

Henderson is reportedly earning £350,000-a-week at Al-Ettifaq, making it difficult for any loan move to be agreed. If he was to walk away from that contract, then there has been talk of the 33-year-old returning to England or heading to mainland Europe for a fresh start at Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen or Juventus.