LOST IN THE DESERT
Jordan Henderson wants out after playing in 30°C heat for a struggling team attracting fewer fans than South Shields. MIKE KEEGAN has walked across the Saudi sands and delivers this report
FOR the opening 10 minutes of his debut, in stifling night-time temperatures of around 30°C, Jordan Henderson played like Jordan Henderson.
He was all over the pitch, probing and passing and cajoling his team-mates. Then, at the first real break in play, he lifted his already-drenched shirt in a futile attempt to dry his face. A small gesture that, with the benefit of hindsight, may have been significant.
At half-time, with a wet, white towel wrapped around his neck, he looked exhausted as he trudged off the pitch before traipsing across the athletics track at the old-fashioned Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium to the sanctuary of the dressing room. Welcome to Saudi Arabia. This is going to be difficult.
Henderson — and Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq — eventually came from behind on that evening in August to beat a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Al Nassr 2-1. The England midfielder was, mercifully, substituted on 87 minutes, job done.
A group of British journalists did not last that long, scuttling from the outdoor press box to the cool air-conditioning of a media room not long after kick-off, while trying not to let their laptops slip from their sweaty grasps on the way down. Four days later, in a short message on social media, Al Ettifaq announced that their new marquee man, on a reported £350,000 a week, was not in the side to play against Al Hazem.
The fairly ambiguous reason given was ‘illness’. It was hard not to wonder just what impact that opening shift had had on the 33-year-old, or how much reality had bitten on that sultry, debilitating night.
Things haven’t got much better since. Al Ettifaq finished seventh last season. They are currently eighth, no fewer than 28 points behind league leaders, the Riyadh giants Al Hilal. Last season their average gate was 5,561. Just under 14,000 turned out for opening night, but that figure fell to 4,200 for the next home match. The third drew a paltry 2,281.
Those are League Two numbers. The 696 who watched Al Ettifaq and Henderson lose at Al Riyadh in October would put the home side 17th in National League North, between Buxton and Brackley Town and below the likes of Warrington Town and Chorley. South Shields, just up the road from Henderson’s Sunderland, average more than three times that figure.
Like everywhere else, in Saudi there are the haves and have-nots. The majority of the influx of superstars last summer went to one of the ‘big four’ controlled by the Public Investment Fund. In the far east of the kingdom, Al Ettifaq — despite shelling out £12m for Henderson — are far from that group.
The numbers, except the wages, seem to tell the story. Mail on Sunday columnist Danny Murphy certainly believes so. According to the former Liverpool man, Henderson has ‘lost the buzz’, stuck in a footballing backwater, wasting what time he has.
It is a strong point. Henderson is 33. He has already made enough money to be set for life. A playing career is a short one and perhaps, having had his eyes opened to the reality of playing in a non-elite league, another two-and-a-half years is too much to stomach. Add to that the prospect of heading to a final Euros — and a crack at a first major honour with England — when not at the top of his game.
Simon Jordan, meanwhile, has been less forgiving. ‘He moved to a pub league with a Harrod’s budget, so what did he expect?’ he asked in his weekly column in these pages, after news broke that Henderson wants out of Saudi.
It would appear that he expected better. While his experience on the field has been, at best, underwhelming, there has also been noise that all is not well off it.
A frustration at the facilities on offer has been mentioned more than once. The quality of the gym, in particular, cited as a sore point — although those in Saudi point out it was given a significant revamp during a recent international break.
In an indication of the problems some of the big names have had in settling following the £700m spree that saw Henderson joined by the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane, Mail Sport has learned that the Pro League recently set up a centralised player concierge service.
A heavily-resourced department, it assists with issues such as healthcare, housing and education for players’ children. Henderson is said to have used its services. The other side of the argument is that those involved are pulling out all the stops.
Regardless, Henderson and his family have been residing in more liberal Bahrain, a 55-minute trip across what has already been dubbed the ‘booze bridge’ (there is a more progressive approach to alcohol over the border).
THAT move may have left a sour taste but there have been stark, if isolated stories, from some who have stayed in Saudi. One English import, who did not wish to be named, could not wait for his partner and his child to visit after heading out alone.
The plan was for them to get a feel for the place before deciding to join him. On the first day, they went to a shopping mall. In searing temperatures, the partner wore a vest and shorts, with arms and legs on display. Once inside the mall, she noticed she was attracting a lot of attention from some of the local women. On a number of occasions she was hissed at. The mistake dawned and the experience was traumatic. It is safe to say that the sales pitch was doomed on day one. She, unsurprisingly, decided to stay in the UK.
The wider picture, however, is that life in the big cities, where most of the stars reside, can be not too dissimilar from some of the more westernised Middle-East resorts, with luxury boutiques and Michelin-star restaurants.
Many within the industry have little sympathy, and believe — should Henderson go — that he will have ‘ruined it’ for other English players. There was a nervousness among Pro League officials over paying big money for players from England, amid a view that the English are notoriously poor travellers. If Henderson, widely viewed as a model pro, cannot hack it at a club where one of his best mates is the manager, what chance does anyone else have?
Rightly or wrongly, there is also a view that the expectation levels and — to be blunt — the pampering provided at Premier League academies, has created a monster. The Saudis know that if they go for a Brazilian player, for example, he is unlikely to create noise about how the facilities are not what he is used to. He is likely to be more willing to thrive in more spartan circumstances and appreciate the bigger picture — the enormous pay cheque that lands at the end of every month. A swift exit from
In one traumatic experience, the partner of an English import was hissed at for wearing shorts in a shopping mall
Henderson would do little to change that impression.
Should he go, although there is acknowledgement that it would not be a great look, the feeling is that few would be distraught.
Speaking publicly, which is a rarity, Pro League vice-chairman and interim chief executive Saad Allazeez did not comment directly on the Henderson situation. However, he did give a few clues when he told Mail Sport he was ‘more than satisfied’ with the League’s direction of travel.
‘Saudi is a footballing nation and our new strategy, which was introduced at the start of this season, is all about long-term sustainable growth with the aim of becoming one of the top leagues in the world,’ he said. ‘We want to be a league that is world class on the pitch and off it, a league that improves Saudi football, is open to all, drives local attendance and engages fans worldwide with attractive football.
‘We are more than satisfied with what has been achieved in the first five months. We’ve seen more goals, so more entertainment, with more fans attending matches and over 160 countries worldwide watching.’
Allazeez does not sound like he has had many sleepless nights over the issue. ‘We’ve become a younger league, more international and more attractive with commercial revenue up over 650 per cent and new global partners,’ he added. ‘So, everything is trending in the right direction. We’re in a very healthy position.
‘This is only the first step on a long journey ahead. But, overall, we are pleased with our progress and growth to date.’
WHILE not down to Henderson, it is understood that a change in direction is on the cards. For the forthcoming campaign, the number of overseas players permitted in squads will rise from eight to 10. The rise is part of a strategy aimed at increasing the numbers of younger players heading to Saudi. Although 10 overseas players will be permitted in the 25-man squad, only eight will be allowed on matchdays.
One industry insider, who works in Saudi, thinks that there may soon be another fascinating development. He believes that players could be offered stakes in the league itself, as part of incentive packages aimed at keeping players in the country for their best years. ‘They are seeking young trailblazers to blast the thing open,’ he explained. ‘Real talent from some of the top academies in Europe. Kids of an age where their expectations are a little more reasonable than the seasoned pros.
‘They will be asked to come here and stay — and if they play their part in making the league a success, then it will be hugely financially beneficial for them.’
The commitment to sport — and spending incredible sums on it — continues apace. Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which aims to use sport as a key pillar to transform the kingdon from an oil-dependent, insular state into a modern and major global power, is going nowhere.
The well is not close to drying up. LIV Golf, and the subsequent climbdown of the PGA, has been viewed as an indicator of what can be achieved. There will be no slowing down, whether Jordan Henderson is in Saudi or Sunderland. Expect more big-name boxing bouts, and the arrival of the 2034 World Cup is inevitable. The Olympics will follow. Huge infrastructure projects are planned.
Officials are adamant that this will not be a Chinese Super League. They say that more than 80 per cent of the country either attends or plays football. Since 2018, the number of registered coaches has grown from 750 to 5,500, of which more than 1,000 are women.
Within the league itself, there are 152 players from 47 countries. On Wednesday, in the wake of the Henderson story, the Pro League announced a new partnership with adidas. On the same day Barcelona boss Xavi, in Riyadh for the Spanish Super Cup, spoke gushingly. ‘The league can grow as much as the Saudi executives want,’ he said. ‘I have competed in cups across Asia in the past and the Saudi teams were already the best in the region. If you now add to the mix the players who keep coming to the league, they will be even more competitive.’
As for Henderson’s next steps, an escape route might well prove tricky. Even by January standards, this is being viewed as a boring transfer window. The 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules dished out to Everton has left a large number of top-flight clubs ‘s ******* themselves’, according to one well-placed insider. ‘Everyone is paranoid about it after what happened to Everton,’ they added. ‘The Premier League have put the fear of God up everyone. Everywhere you look it’s loans, loans, loans. With Henderson, nobody is going to get anywhere near the money he is on out there. Even if he does take a massive pay cut, it’s still going to be difficult to find somewhere he wants to go who could stomach his wages on their balance sheet.’
Ajax are interested, and some believe Brighton could offer a temporary getaway and a reunion with former Anfield team-mates Adam Lallana and James Milner.
Back in Saudi, the wheels would continue to turn. ‘They would learn the lesson and move on,’ the Saudi-based industry insider explained. ‘They have their strategy and they are committed to it. There is unlimited money, unlimited time and unlimited patience. The Pro League needs to be a success — either with or without Jordan Henderson.’
‘We are a younger and more attractive league,’ say the Saudis. ‘Everything is trending in the right direction’