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Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson became the first player from Europe to leave Saudi after only six months with Al Ettifaq. The midfielder reportedly deferred his wages in Saudi Arabia as he looked to beat UK tax laws.
The Saudi project attracted a lot of big names from Europe in the summer of 2023, but the transfer of Henderson to Al Ettifaq was a huge surprise. The England international joined the mid-table side after Jurgen Klopp failed to assure him of regular minutes with the Reds this season.
Henderson received a significant bump in wages and was meant to earn £350,000 weekly at the Saudi club, where he played under Steven Gerrard. The midfielder, however, did not receive a single penny of his salary throughout his six months in Saudi, as he chose to defer it.
Telegraph Sport believes that the decision to defer his salary was to make it possible for him to return to England in the short term and play for the national team. Without the UK taxpayer status, there is a limitation to the amount of time he can spend in the country without falling foul of the authorities.
Henderson understood that he needed to have spent three weeks, at most, in the country by the end of 2023 to be considered non-resident for tax purposes. It was in his bid to avoid these limitations that he made the choice to defer his salary payments.
The midfielder is believed to have accepted that he may never receive any of the monies owed to him by the club.
Jordan Henderson set for Ajax switch
Jordan Henderson has reached an agreement with Al Ettifaq for the cancellation of his contract, which was meant to run for three years. The 33-year-old has grown disillusioned with football in the oil-rich country and has decided to return to Europe at great personal cost.
Henderson will sign for Ajax as a free agent on a contract until 2026 after accepting a 75% pay cut to play for the struggling Dutch giants. This marks the end of his brief sojourn into the Middle East, where he was briefly reunited with former Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum.
The experienced midfielder revealed that he did not have many offers from elsewhere in the summer, and that was what led him to move to Saudi. He managed four assists in 17 league appearances for the club, who are eighth in the league standings.
