Henderson surprisingly departed Anfield after 12 years of stellar service in July. Having captained the side to glory over eight of those years, it was a move few saw coming.
But according to the player himself, Klopp was fine with him leaving for Al Ettifaq. Speaking to The Athletic, Henderson said that the Liverpool manager was pleased with the summer’s transfer business, whilst also praising Reds owners FSG.
“I saw Jurgen said a few days ago that he’s really happy with the transfer window and he loves his team,” says the 33-year-old. “Which tells you the players that left, he probably wanted to go and the players that have come in, he probably wanted to sign.
“So they’ll [FSG] have had a plan. It’s not as if they just went last minute, ‘Oh Jordan’s going and Fabinho’s going, Milner’s going’. There’s always a plan, there’s always a strategy, especially with this ownership.
“And to be honest, I always felt as though they had the best interests of the club at heart. They never take any money out of the club. They invest it all back in the club — whether that’s with the stadium, training ground, players. But at the same time, they’re clever in what they do with the money.
“They’re not going to go and spend a ridiculous amount of fees and wages on players because it will upset the structure, as much as I tried with certain players in the past! They stick to their principles and it has worked.”
Klopp happy with Henderson exit
This is a quite extraordinary comment from Henderson when you really think about it.
Just what was he wanting Jurgen to say? That he was absolutely gutted with the business that Liverpool had done. How would that look before a new season?
No, whatever Klopp privately felt about Henderson leaving, he’ll likely have told in person to Jordan. And we don’t think it’ll have been a joyous conversation, either.
There were certainly enough comments from the Reds boss at the time to suggest that this was not something he wanted at all.
Although he may have seen reduced game time, Liverpool were still planning for the season ahead with their captain on board. This is something Henderson himself even openly admitted just yesterday.
Henderson speaks of a plan, and there certainly will have been one for every occasion. But the England international leaving won’t have been thought of as being likely.
Instead, this simply reads as Henderson being a little bitter about his departure. Liverpool are moving on from him, whether they wanted to or not. Now it’s time for the former skipper to do the same.
