“I really looked up to him” – Liverpool star lavishes praise on ‘real captain’ Jordan Henderson after Anfield exit

Cody Gakpo has lavished praise on Jordan Henderson after the Englishman's exit from Liverpool. The Dutchman states that the new Al-Ettifaq player was a 'real captain' at Anfield, and players learned a lot from him.

Henderson decided to leave Liverpool this summer after getting an offer from the Middle East. He will now be playing under his former teammate Steven Gerrard.

Speaking to LiverpoolECHO, Gakpo revealed that Henderson was like a big brother to the players, and everyone looked up to him. He added that the midfielder was a great personality and said:

"Hendo was a real captain on and off the pitch. He was always there for everybody, a great personality, and an example for how a professional players has to be. I really looked up to him in that kind of way, you could learn a lot from him. Jordan was always asking me how I was, if where I was living was okay."

He added:

"He was like a big brother. A really great guy and great footballer, as the coach said in his farewell video, he is a legend. It's normal when players with so much experience leave that it's a pity for the club. But now there is room for other players to improve in those ways and I think it will go naturally."

Gakpo and Henderson played 23 matches together at Anfield since the Dutchman joined earlier this year.

---

Liverpool wanted Jordan Henderson to stay, confirms Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Liverpool wanted Jordan Henderson to stay. However, the Englishman found the offer from Saudi Arabia too tempting and decided to leave.

Speaking to the media earlier in July, Klopp said (via Tribuna):

"It was not about me convincing him; it was about me reacting to what was happening. That's how I understood the role in that moment. He's not here anymore. He will miss us, we will miss him. But we have to go on and we will - that's clear. That's pretty much everything."

The Athletic reported that Henderson told his Anfield teammates that he did not want to hold them back and decided to leave. The former Sunderland star played 492 matches for the Reds and scored 33 times.