Jurgen Klopp has urged Jordan Henderson’s detractors not to pass judgment on the former Liverpool midfielder, who has joined Ajax after ending his tumultuous stay in Saudi Arabia.
Henderson left Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq on Thursday in a surprise transfer to Dutch club Ajax, just six months after leaving Liverpool.
Henderson’s lucrative relocation to a country where same-sex partnerships are prohibited drew widespread criticism in Britain, where he had previously been a prominent supporter of LGBTQ+ issues.
Liverpool manager Klopp responded to a fresh wave of criticism on Henderson after he ended his Saudi stay, saying the 33-year-old did not deserve to have his personal choices questioned.
“People are really critical of Hendo about the move, first there and now coming back,” Klopp told reporters on Friday.
“I don’t know how we dare, always judging these kind of things. We have one life and we have to make decisions sometimes our decisions are perfect in the first case and sometimes it is different after we make them.
“He was there and it was 100 per cent an interesting experience and I spoke to him and 99 per cent of football things there were absolutely fine.”
Henderson led Liverpool to Champions League victory in 2019 and won the club’s first Premier League title in 30 years the following season.
And, while Ajax is currently struggling in the Dutch league, Klopp feels Henderson’s move to Amsterdam will help him recover from a difficult spell.
“There are many things to develop in the future but (he was) never critical or saying: ‘That may be there’, but then he thought him and the family should come back to Europe and now he is at Ajax Amsterdam, a sensational club in a difficult moment,” he said.
“I’m happy for him as it looks like he is happy and that is the most important thing to me.
“He is going to Holland where he can enjoy his football again. The family will feel wonderful because the city is outstanding.
“I will talk to him in these few days but he has a few things to do which are more important.”