Jordan Henderson’s decision to leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia appears to have shocked his former team-mate Sadio Mane.
Henderson, 33, left the Reds to join Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq last month in a move that will see him rake in £700,000-a-week.
Meanwhile, Mane departed Bayern for Al-Nassr following a difficult 12 months in Germany where he registered 12 goals and six assists in 38 games.
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Henderson now plays for Al-Ettifaq, while Mane signed for Al-Nassr
Mane’s path crossed with Henderson’s at a launch party for the Saudi Pro League, which kicks off on Monday when Al-Ettifaq host Al-Nassr. Their interaction was shared on social media by the league and it showed just how surprising the turn of events which has brought them to the Middle East is.
The two former Liverpool heroes shared a hug before Mane looked Henderson up and down and said simply: “I can’t believe it.” They then embraced for a second time before exchanging pleasantries by asking how each other were.
Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane shared a hug
On Monday, Henderson and Mane will square off in a game that will be aired worldwide. According to Mirror Football, the Saudi Pro League and DAZN have reached a UK TV agreement that will see every match in the fledgling league aired live.
Henderson has been named captain of his new team, Dammam, a beach city close to Bahrain, by Gerrard. Not only has he moved to Saudi Arabia, but Liverpool also sold Fabinho to Al-Ittihad for £40 million.
“Was I surprised when Henderson said he wanted to move on? Of course,” Klopp said.
“We had a relationship for eight years. He knew the situation that we wanted to keep him but if he wanted to leave we weren’t going to throw rocks and stones in the way. It was about reacting to it.”
Ex-Premier League star Thomas Hitzlsperger hit out the midfielder on social media, writing: “So Jordan Henderson finally gets his move to Saudi. Fair play to him, he can play wherever he wants to play. Curious to know though how the new brand JH will look like. The old one is dead! I did believe for a while that his support for the LGBTQ community would be genuine. Silly me…”