Jordan Henderson has torpedoed his own career – and lashed out at his Ajax team-mate

English football fans could be forgiven for forgetting about Jordan Henderson – only a year after it was impossible to avoid headlines about the midfielder.

Back in the autumn of 2023, Henderson had left Liverpool for Saudi Arabia and Al-Ettifaq.

An ally of the LGBQT community during his time at Anfield, he attempted to justify his move with a series of tin-eared announcements and interviews that alienated those who once held him as an idol.

The schadenfreude when Henderson slinked back to Europe at the first opportunity, captained the worst Ajax team in living memory and was unceremoniously dumped from the Euro 2024 squad was universal.

It was a spectacular fall from grace for a player who, while certainly in decline at Liverpool, still generated respect for his determination and achievements in the game.

Ajax have not enjoyed a stellar start to the 2024-25 campaign and it’s perhaps this, and the gnawing sense that Henderson took a shotgun to his own career, that saw his temper boil over during their Europa League victory over Besiktas.

After Bertrand Traore lost possession in a dangerous area, Henderson ambled his way over to his team-mate and asked him politely if he’d refrain from doing so in the future.

Naturally, Traore took exception to his captain’s request and told the former Liverpool and England man that he was welcome to place the instruction where the sun certainly doesn’t shine.

As Henderson leaned into Traore and had to be dragged away by Fitz-Jim, he could be seen turning the Amsterdam air blue with bellowed Anglo-Saxon oaths. It’s only a game, lads.

Jordan Henderson was NOT happy with Ajax teammate Bertrand Traoré 😳

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Earlier this week, Henderson also hit out at Ajax’s summer transfer strategy. He singled out the decisions to sell Carlos Forbs to Wolves and Steve Bergwijn to Al-Ittihad in particular, with both deals having come late in the window.

“They are two great players. Every team would have missed them, of course. But we still have other players, who are also good. Players who can create chances and are especially dangerous in the final third,” he said.

“Hopefully we learn from it. It’s also not ideal to lose one or two of your wingers on the final day of the transfer market. We have lost quality.”

But his leadership skills were on show for all to see this week as he expertly batted away questions about Ajax’s strikers following the team’s tough start to the season.

The addition of Wout Weghorst specifically has prompted criticism from sections of the Dutch media, but Henderson was keen to stress that the performance of the team is a collective responsibility.

“It’s always about our strikers. That’s apparently a big deal here, but not for me,” Henderson said. “For me it’s always about the team, not about individuals.

“Our strikers have their own qualities and it’s up to them to show in training who should play. And also who is fit. We have a lot of games to go.”

Henderson, whose Ajax side sits ninth in the Dutch league table after four games, added: “Of course it can always be better and we always look at what went well and what did not.

“But you should never go too high after a win and never too low after a defeat. Maybe the feeling was different immediately after the match, but if you analyse a match well it can also be details that need to be changed.

“To not fall below the lower limit, you have to stay focused and stick to the game plan. If you fall behind, you have to reset and try to get back on track.”

Pilloried by the media and lampooned now by their own fans, Ajax are a storied institution whose ambitions seem to be trapped in a dead end.

The same can arguably be said for Henderson, whose decision to leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia in 2023 is a textbook example of hubris and ego overtaking clear thought.

His name wasn’t even mentioned in passing when the last England squad was announced. It’s hard to remember somebody torpedoing their own career so unnecessarily.

By Michael Lee