Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has admitted that leaving Anfield after 12 years was so difficult he couldn’t even bring himself to watch his former club on TV.
In a candid account, the Premier League and Champions League winner likened his departure from Liverpool to a painful breakup, revealing that he has struggled to move on and describing it as one of the toughest periods of his career.
The 35-year-old shocked fans two years ago when he left Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, signing with Pro League club Al-Ettifaq.
Criticised by some for chasing financial gain, Henderson spent just six months in Saudi Arabia before moving to Dutch giants Ajax.
He stayed in Amsterdam for 18 months before returning to the Premier League this summer, joining Brentford.
Despite his moves, Jordan Henderson admits the emotional scars from leaving Anfield are still raw, and the pain lingers.
Henderson said: “It was a really tough period when I left Liverpool, I was there for a long period of time, 12 years.
“Leaving Liverpool itself was huge and really difficult and at any point it was going to be hard because it had been my life for so long and then it is just gone like that… so I have struggled for a period after that.
“No, I couldn’t watch a lot of games, I certainly couldn’t watch Liverpool. I didn’t watch a lot of Premier League stuff then… probably picked the right place for that, I was half way around the world!
“Yeah, it was tough but when you leave Liverpool because I was there for so long because I had such an attachment and I dedicated a large part of my life there, when I left I found it really difficult and I suppose whatever I did or wherever I went…
“I don’t know what it felt like, it felt like a break-up, it was just difficult and I think if you asked a lot of players when they left a club, not just Liverpool but when you have been at a club for so long and you have that attachment to them whether you retire or move on.
“I think for a period of time that was hard but within time things change, you move on but I would say that was probably the most difficult time.”
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