Former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson has stressed that he "never" wanted to hurt the LGBTQ+ community with his highly controversial move to Saudi Arabia.
After 492 appearances and 33 goals in a Liverpool shirt, Henderson left 12 years of Anfield memories behind to join Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq in the Middle East this summer.
Henderson was one of a plethora of renowned players to depart Europe for the Middle East, although much was made of his transfer in particular given his support for the LGBTQ+ community.
The former Sunderland man frequently advocated for LGBTQ+ rights in the Premier League by donning rainbow laces and the rainbow armband, the latter of which was greyed out in his Al Ettifaq announcement video.
Homosexuality is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia under Sharia law, and Henderson has been denounced by a leading LGBTQ+ England fans' group 3LIONSPRIDE, who have stated that they will no longer support the midfielder individually.
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Reports had stated that Henderson was set to pocket £700,000 a week in the Middle East, fuelling suggestions that his transfer was purely for financial reasons - claims that he has denied.
The 33-year-old insisted that he left Liverpool because he no longer felt 'wanted' at the club during an in-depth interview with The Athletic, where he also admitted that he understood the frustrations of the LGBTQ+ Community and apologised for their feelings of "anger" and "frustration".
"I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I'm sorry that they feel like that. My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone," Henderson said. "My intention has always been to help causes and communities where I felt like they had asked for my help.
"Now, when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing's going to happen. Nothing's going to change.
"I think people know what my views and values were before I left and still do now. And I think having someone with those views and values in Saudi Arabia is only a positive thing."
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When questioned on his rainbow armband being greyed out in his Al Ettifaq announcement, Henderson claimed to have had no knowledge of the move and affirmed that he wants to respect the "religion" and "culture" of Saudi Arabia, where he has witnessed positive change during his short time there.
"I didn't know anything about it until it was out. And it's hard for me to know and understand everything because it is part of the religion," the midfielder added.
"So if I wear the rainbow armband, if that disrespects their religion, then that's not right either. Everybody should be respectful of religion and culture. That's what I think we're all trying to fight for here in terms of inclusion and everything.
"You know, years ago, for instance, women or kids probably couldn't play football, but now I'm over there and there's loads of women and girls playing football, so slowly things can change.
"I can't promise anything, but what I can do is sit here and say I have my values and beliefs. And I strongly believe that me playing in Saudi Arabia is a positive thing."
Henderson has two assists to show from his first four games for Al Ettifaq and was called up to Gareth Southgate's England squad for September's Euro 2024 qualifier with Ukraine and 150th Anniversary Heritage match with Scotland.
Ben Knapton
