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Former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson admitted that he started watching the Saudi Pro League (SPL) following Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival.
The Portuguese icon joined Al-Nassr in January 2023 after having his contract mutually terminated at Manchester United. After managing just three goals in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign for the Red Devils, Ronaldo became the first major European name to join the SPL.
Following the 38-year-old's footsteps were several other European stars who moved to the Middle East this summer. Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson, N'Golo Kante, Neymar, and many other superstars now represent various SPL sides.
Ronaldo has been extremely influential for Al-Nassr on the pitch, bagging 34 goals and 12 assists in 41 appearances. He's notched up an incredible 735 senior club career goals, winning the UEFA Champions League five times and Premier League thrice, among other trophies.
Admitting that he only started watching the Saudi Arabian top-tier competition after the former Real Madrid striker's transfer, Henderson said (via @9NFCBALL):
“I started watching the Saudi League after the legend Cristiano Ronaldo joined.”
Henderson, 33, spent 12 years at Anfield after joining the Reds from Sunderland in the summer of 2011 for a reported €18 million. He made 492 appearances for the Merseysiders, bagging 33 goals and 61 assists across all competitions.
The England international won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League once each, among other honors with Liverpool. Since his reported €14 million move to Al-Ettifaq, Henderson has completed 17 appearances across competitions for his current employers, bagging five assists.
When Jordan Henderson revealed the reason behind joining Cristiano Ronaldo in SPL
Former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson revealed that he was aware of new players coming into his position at Anfield. The Reds signed multiple midfielders in the summer, including World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for a reported £35 million.
Jurgen Klopp and Co. also brought in Dominik Szoboszlai for a reported £60 million from RB Leipzig. Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo made the move to Anfield from Germany in the summer.
Addressing his decision to join Cristiano Ronaldo and other European stars in Saudi Arabia, Henderson told The Athletic in September (via Al Jazeera):
"I won’t go into detail about the conversation because it’s private, but it put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much. I knew there were going to be new players coming in my position."
The new crop of midfielders seem to have settled into life in England, helping the Reds to second place in the Premier League season so far. Liverpool are only a point behind leaders Arsenal.
