Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp reveals what he told Jordan Henderson ahead of Saudi Arabia exit

Jurgen Klopp confirmed that he wanted Jordan Henderson to stay following his sale to Al-Ettifaq this summer.

The former Liverpool skipper left the club in a deal worth £12m as Saudi Arabia came calling but the England international opened up recently on the parameters of his exit.

Henderson was one of six midfielders to leave the club this summer, with Liverpool opting to spend near to £150m on four players to refresh the midfield.

However, the topic of Henderson is still very much a popular topic, made all the more prevalent following his open interview with the Athletic on September 5.

Klopp was quick to address the topic when speaking at his press conference ahead of the trip to Wolves, and the German revealed what he said to Henderson before he opted for his switch to the Middle East.

“Hendo said the truth in all departments. We had talks. I told Hendo I wanted him to stay but we had to talk in these conversations about not playing regularly.

“Hendo said the truth. That’s how it was”. I told him I wanted him to stay but we talked about not playing regularly... If I’d told him: if you stay you’ll be main man in midfield, then he would have stayed”.

“I cannot have a talk and tell someone you’ve 50 games. In the specific situation because of the relationship we had I saw it important to speak about everything, ‘what happens if’.

“Hendo is a fantastic player, I love him forever, super guy, but he is not great when he is not playing he turns. Millie was like that when I arrived. Lucas Leiva was like that.

“When they see the team and they are not playing they turn, Jekyll and Hyde is a friendly game against that. It is unbelievable.”

In an interview with the Athletic on September 5, he claimed that he knew players were coming in and his game time was going to be reduced, and he’s quoted as saying.

“I won’t go into detail about the conversation because it’s private, but it put me in a position where I knew that I wasn’t going to be playing as much. I knew there were going to be new players coming in my position.”