'Not ideal' - Steven Gerrard speaks out on Jordan Henderson's decision to leave Al-Ettifaq just six months after controversial transfer from Liverpool

The former Reds captain left the club for the Saudi Pro League ahead of the 2023-24 season, but his stay in the Middle East lasted just six months as he moved to Ajax in the January transfer window.

Now Liverpool legend and Al-Ettifaq manager Gerrard has opened up on Henderson's stint with the club as he revealed he was left disappointed with his captain's departure in the middle of the season. After a difficult start to his managerial journey in the Saudi league, Gerrard eventually guided the club to a sixth-place finish.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the former England midfielder said: "I respected his decision because I love him as a guy, I love him as a player and I have nothing but ultimate respect for him. I was disappointed. Any manager who loses his captain during the season is not ideal and I told Jordan that. But if someone is not settled.

"If someone has some family things that are affecting him. If someone has got different outside goals or opportunities, like England for example, then I have to respect that and understand it. And I do. But was I disappointed? Of course, I was."

He added: "I did [try to convince him to stay] but I didn’t overdo that because it had to be Jordan’s decision. He’s a big boy and I didn’t want to be someone – for example, if I had convinced him to stay and he felt further down [the line] that it was the wrong decision then I didn’t want to be that person who he was told: ‘Why did you convince me to stay?’ It had to be Jordan’s decision. He needed his own time. He needed to go through his own processes. The advice I gave to Jordan was: ‘Do what’s right for your family’."

Things did not go as planned for the 33-year-old as he had an underwhelming outing in the Eredivisie. Overall, a miserable 12 months in club football amounted to him being left out of Gareth Southgate's 33-man preliminary England squad for Euro 2024.