Flamengo boss Jesus names Liverpool's Henderson as the best midfielder in the world

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson is the best midfielder in the world in his particular position, according to Flamengo coach Jorge Jesus. 

The Portuguese manager got to see Henderson up close during the Club World Cup final which the Reds ultimately won 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal from Roberto Firmino. 

Henderson played every minute of the match and while his work in midfield often goes unnoticed, Jesus was clearly left impressed by what he saw. 

"Henderson is the best midfielder in the world in his position," Jesus said on CMTV.

"[Jurgen Klopp] never sacks him, but the two offensive midfielders, [Naby] Keita and [Georginio] Wijnaldum, sometimes are replaced. The other players are always the same."

Th England international has been a consistent member of the Liverpool starting XI and in fact played the most Premier League games of any player across the last decade. 

Henderson again impressed in the Reds' first match of 2020 as they eased past Sheffield United 2-0 to further cement their place atop the Premier League table.

Klopp was quick to praise Henderson's first performance of the new year as he took aim at anyone brave enough to criticise the Liverpool skipper.

“Yes, he’s exceptional, yes, he’s outstanding,” Klopp said of Henderson.

“I would have to say what Gini and Hendo have done, with the number of games they’ve played, is absolutely incredible, I don’t take that for granted for one second.

“If anyone who is with us doesn’t see the quality of Jordan Henderson I can’t help him.

“Is Hendo the perfect football player? No. Do I know anybody who is? No. Is he unbelievably important to us? Yes."

Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino also recently declared Henderson was Liverpool's best player of the past decade. 

“Okay he might not have been as good as Steven Gerrard," Cascarino told talkSPORT. “Luis Suarez had his brilliance for a year – two years probably.

“And you've had some great players play for the club; [Mohamed] Salah has been brilliant for two years, like [Sadio] Mane, and there are a huge amount of players.

“But if you're talking about 2010 to 2020, Jordan Henderson has done nine years there and he has ended up being part of of that side under every manager.

“So I can't see how it can be anybody but Jordan Henderson."