Former Sunderland man Jordan Henderson has been in headlines for much of his spell at Ajax. Right now, he’s in headlines for the wrong reasons.
Jordan Henderson left Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq to join Ajax in 2024. The former Sunderland academy graduate spent just half-a-year with Steven Gerrard’s former club Al-Ettifaq.
Henderson’s move and exit from Al-Ettifaq had its controversies. Now his spell with Ajax has become somewhat controversial too amid recent claims that Henderson was set to leave for Monaco.
Before the New Year, Sunderland were linked with Henderson. It’d been claimed in the media that Henderson has been unhappy with his gametime and role with Dutch giants Ajax.
Now, the 34-year-old has hit back at Dutch media who he claims are making up ‘nonsense’ stories about his future, which has prompted a strong response from one journalist in the Netherlands.
Jordan Henderson branded an ‘actor’ after Ajax press conference rant
Henderson is normally captain of Ajax. But before Saturday’s win over Feyenoord, he gave the armband to teammate Remko Pasveer in a move that stirred some debate among supporters and indeed the media.
That fell on top of the news of Henderson’s reported move to Monaco falling through, which led to a fiery press conference between Henderson and Dutch media on Saturday evening which you can watch below.
In response to the presser, Dutch journalist Valentijn Driessen launched a rather scathing review of Henderson’s comments. Driessen wrote for De Telegraaf: “Jordan Henderson employed the tried-and-true recipe of his status as a top footballer and imagined image to save face after his immature behaviour last week at Ajax-Galatasaray.”
Reports have claimed that Henderson initially refused to play in Ajax’s Europa League win over Galatasaray in the game before Feyenoord. He ended up starting the game and playing 77 minutes.
Driessen continued: “He came out with a frontal counter-attack after the Klassieker [Feyenoord derby] win – in the spirit of the play of opposing Ajax – and told that 99% of all stories about a transfer to AS Monaco forced by him were lies.
“That was still the biggest lie of all. When questioned at the press conference afterwards, he hid behind details about which he did not want to go public. Realising that it would greatly undermine his defence.”
Driessen signed off his column with: “Henderson is not the person he wants to be. He’s an actor, a bad one too.”
What Jordan Henderson has said about a possible return to Sunderland
Henderson’s Ajax future certainly seems to be in doubt now. It’ll take a lot for both sides of the argument to forgive each other and move on, but a summer exit may soon seem likely.
Speaking in December, Henderson gave his thoughts on returning to Sunderland amid speculation that the Black Cats could’ve launched a winter bid to sign the midfielder.
Henderson said: “It’s my club, ever since I was a boy of six or seven years old. Then I was in the stands. But I just hope I stay here [at Ajax]. I really like it here. I want to help the club to grow further.”
“We are also taking those steps. But I also read [the stories about Sunderland return]. I don’t even know where all this comes from, because there has been no contact.”
Whether that stance has changed after the dramas of the last few days remains to be seen. But Henderson returning to the Stadium of Light one day certainly seems possible.