When soccer star Jordan Henderson came back to Wembley Stadium on Friday for a friendly game, fans did not warmly greet him. They booed him.
The crowd wasn’t happy that the Liverpool captain was back home after signing with a club in Saudi Arabia over the summer.
Recently, the friend of LGBTQ+ people got in trouble for choosing to play in Saudi Arabia and saying it wasn’t for the money.
After a rough welcome home, Henderson went on an English TV show and… defended his move to one of the world’s most anti-gay countries???
So far, he’s had “no regrets.”
He said, “I believe that having someone in Saudi Arabia with my values is only a good thing.” “Before I went to Saudi, people knew about the groups I had helped in the past.”
“Going to a different country to play football hasn’t changed who I am or what I believe in.”
Please, girl.
Henderson, who is 33 years old, moved from the Premier League to Saudi Arabia and signed a $15 million deal with Al Ettifaq, one of the professional teams in the country.
Even though he will make a lot more than he did at Liverpool, he recently said in a terrible interview that money wasn’t what drove him.
“This club will get a lot of money, and he just said, ‘Yeah, I’m going.'” It turned out that wasn’t the case at all. “Money has never been a reason for me in my life or career, ever,” he told The Athletic.
Yes, Jan.
“Don’t get me wrong; the business deal has to be tight when you move.” Some of the things you need are money, to feel wanted, and to be respected. That includes money. That wasn’t the only reason, though. These options were brought up before the subject of money even came up.
That’s not easy to buy. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Riyad Mahrez are just a few sports stars who have left Europe for Saudi Arabia to make a lot of money. Henderson isn’t the first one to do this.
David Beckham, who used to be a gay hero, agreed to be Qatar’s tourist representative for $150 million before the 2022 World Cup. He says that the anti-LGBTQ+ Arab state is safe for gay people.
They all gave up their honor for pay days, of course. Henderson won’t say that, though.
He’s so rude as to say that the backlash from LGBTQ+ fans has hurt him.
“People around me can say really mean and critical things about me.” “And that was hard to handle,” he said. “But I just feel like that because I care about different communities and causes I’ve worked on. I do care.” It really hurt me when people said bad things about me and said I had turned my back on them.
Henderson signed with Al Ettifaq. Kop Outs, Liverpool’s well-known LGBTQ+ fans group, said in a statement that its members were “appalled” by his choice.
Henderson, who was Liverpool’s captain, was one of the league’s most vocal fans of the rainbow laces movement. He also wore a rainbow wristband.
He promised not to “disrespect the culture” by wearing colorful laces or other items soon after signing with his Saudi team.
To put it another way, he doesn’t want to upset his money plans!
Henderson can say that he’s still the same guy and that his values haven’t changed in answer to the boos on Friday. But the truth is that he won’t be as helpful in public.
Zander Murray, a Scottish soccer star, said it best when he told Henderson to stop the publicity pranks.
Henderson is trying to fit in with both groups, but his new outfit makes it clear where he really stands.
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