Southgate criticises England fans for booing Henderson

Jordan Henderson played the full 90 minutes of Al-Ettifaq’s Saudi Pro League clash with Al-Riyadh in front of fewer than 700 fans on Sunday. To make matters worse, Steven Gerrard’s side fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat, slipping further behind Al-Hilal in the race for the league title.

Henderson traded Anfield for the Middle East during the summer, with the England international accepting a bumper pay packet to turn his back on the Premier League. The 33-year-old has been a mainstay of Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq midfield, making nine appearances so far this campaign.

Sunday’s defeat at Al-Riyadh won’t have been a highlight for the 2018/19 Champions League-winning captain, however, as only 696 fans turned up to watch Henderson and co lose 1-0.

Khalid Al-Shuwayyi opened the scoring in the 18th minute, and while Al-Ettifaq rallied with more possession, shots and shots on target than their opponents, they were unable to mount a comeback.

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Gerrard’s outfit have now gone three matches without a win, and Henderson wasn’t the only big name left humiliated by the game’s measly turnout. Demarai Gray, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jack Hendry were also involved, with the result leaving Al-Ettifaq nine points behind table-toppers Al-Hilal.

Two-thirds of the teams in National League North – the sixth tier of English football – boast more fans on average than the amount that turned up to witness Al-Riyadh’s recent win.

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The likes of King’s Lynn Town, Tamworth and Scarborough Athletic all have the Saudi side beaten, while there were even more fans at Clitheroe’s eighth-tier win over Newcastle Town on Saturday. The humiliating attendance figures are a far cry from what Henderson and Gerrard were used to during their time at Liverpool.

Explaining his move to the Middle East back in September, Henderson told The Athletic that ‘money has never been a motivation’. However, the England international recently spoke out to clarify the comments.

“I have said that before and I did an interview a few months ago and some of the stuff that I said didn’t come out in the way I thought I said it or how I think that was the truth,” he told Channel 4.

“An example of that would be that, in terms of I didn’t go out there solely for the money, I think there’s a big difference between it’s not a sole reason, rather than saying I didn’t go out there for the money.”

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