MY ACCOUNT
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has revealed his Reds career nearly came to a premature end a decade ago during Brendan Rodgers’ tenure.
The Merseysiders welcome Inter Milan to Anfield this evening for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, protecting a 2-0 lead earned at the San Siro.
Henderson, 31, is in contention to feature tonight — but clearly things could have worked out very differently for the influential midfielder.
Speaking on BT Sport’s Between The Lines, Henderson recalled how he was left in tears when Fulham had a bid accepted for his services back in 2012, just one year after he had moved from Sunderland.
Henderson said: “I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was just before we played Hearts at Anfield.
“I had a conversation with Brendan [Rodgers] in the hotel on the day of the game, and to be fair to Brendan, he gave me the option, it was more the club that was willing to let me go.
“Brendan said, ‘listen, it is down to you. You are not going to be starting as much as you would like but I will try to help you improve on what you need to improve on. You’re still young and if you do that then maybe you’ll get more game time’.
“I basically went back to my room, cried a little bit and was devastated, really.
“It wasn’t really an option for me to leave because I hadn’t been at the club very long and I had worked extremely hard to get there. I wasn’t just going to leave.”
Staying put proved to be an inspired choice, with Henderson lifting the Champions League in 2019 and Premier League in 2020 as skipper — the Reds’ first league title in 30 years.
And the England international says former boss Rodgers, now at Leicester, was true to his word regarding his development.
“Brendan helped me a lot tactically,” he said.
“I was good at box-to-box, I was very physical, and decent technically, but the tactical elements I wasn’t really taught that much.
“He showed me positioning, where he wanted me with and without the ball, and I felt that helped me understand football even more. From that moment on, I just grew in confidence as time went on.”
With over 400 Reds appearances now under his belt, Henderson has achieved cult hero status at Anfield — though his starting berth has been less assured in recent times.
Jurgen Klopp remains a big admirer, however.
Speaking after the midfielder’s impressive substitute cameo against Inter, Klopp said: “I love him to bits. He didn’t start against Milan but he came on and made that difference.
“That is exactly what a player has to do. It is the perfect example. It was the same with Naby Keita. He was brilliant when he came on.
“If players lose confidence when they don’t start, that is a problem. If you come on, you have to do exactly what the five boys did who came on against Inter.”
