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“Not my place to judge individuals in football or other industries.”
Gareth Southgate has addressed speculation about the effect of Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia on his place in the England squad. Speaking on talkSPORT to Jim White and Stuart Pearce, Southgate confirmed that Henderson had approached him in the summer to ask whether the transfer would automatically rule him out of contention. The England boss dismissed this idea, saying that it would be “stupid” to make such a decision without assessing how Henderson was playing.
Southgate said
“I spoke to him in the summer, the question he wanted to know was ‘if I move here, are you going to automatically rule me out?’
“We would be stupid to do that. Why would we rule anyone out based on where they are playing? We have got to see how they are playing.
“We have an idea of what that league will look like but we won’t know until we actually start to see the games.”If you asked me three months ago what that league would look like, I’d have a very different idea to what it is looking like as more and more players decide to go there”.
Southgate acknowledged that the move would affect Henderson’s opportunities to play in elite competitions.
He said
“But Henderson won’t be playing in the Premier League. He won’t play in the Champions League, which is the easiest assessment for the level he is playing at.”
He also highlighted the complexity of assessing individuals’ decisions in an interconnected world,
He added:
“It’s not for me to judge any individual whether they’re in football or in any other industry.
“I don’t think he’s changing his view on what he believes in. So now we’re in a really complex world where, what are we saying, nobody should go to Newcastle? Should nobody work for companies that the Saudis own in London or should nobody buy oil from the Saudis”?
Henderson received backlash for going to the Middle East despite previously condemning human rights violations there. Southgate defended Henderson and stated that various factors are considered when deciding on a next move, such as playing time and contract length. He also suggested that Liverpool receiving a fee for Henderson is advantageous for the club in the long run.
Al Ettifaq signed the 33-year-old former Liverpool captain on a three-year deal last month worth £12m plus add-ons. Despite this move, England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Henderson still features in his plans, as he has already earned 77 caps for his national team. During his time at Liverpool, Henderson made 492 appearances, won seven major honours and participated in several other finals. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s football teams have been attracting top players from Europe with enticing contracts, such as Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, and bringing aboard Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard as their new head coach. #premierleague #football #epl #footballnews #pl
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