Liverpool’s captain was left out of his side’s 4-2 win in Karlsruhe last night after Al-Ettifaq came back to the table with an offer the Anfield club were happy to accept. Henderson had held discussions with manager Jurgen Klopp earlier in the afternoon and the decision was mutually agreed.
Al-Ettifaq, who do not have financial backing from the Public Investment Fund unlike Saudi’s four top clubs, were initially reluctant to come up with a transfer fee but after things stalled over the weekend they returned with a structure and timing of payments that met with Liverpool’s approval.
This is a huge development, as it is clear Liverpool are planning for life without a man who has been at Anfield for 12 years, skippered the team for eight years and lifted seven major trophies; Klopp is aware of the level of interest in the story but felt unable to speak at length.
Klopp said: ‘As long as things are not really finally decided, we don’t have to talk about it. There will be a moment where we probably have to talk about it, but it’s not now, MailOnline reports.
‘I don’t know that anything is decided, which means nothing to say in the moment. In the end, all of these decisions are made by me. And because I respect the players a lot, it’s usually [with their] consent. It was in this case, and it is all fine.’
