Jordan Henderson says exit gave 'a lift' to two Liverpool players

Jordan Henderson says his exit from Liverpool gave a lift to two former teammates. The ex-captain thinks it was for the best.

Jordan Henderson believes Liverpool made the right decision to move him on in the summer. The Reds sold their captain to Al-Ettifaq in a controversial transfer, though Henderson has now joined Ajax.

But regardless of where he went, the midfielder feels Liverpool were correct to sell him. That's despite it being difficult for him to admit that.

“Looking back, I think it was the right time for me as a player [to leave] but also for them as a team and for them as a club, as much as that hurt at the time,” said Henderson, per The Times. “I was very emotional.

"Looking back in that period of time, looking back now, it is easy to see that it was the right decision made by the manager and the club. It was the best decision to freshen things up.

"If you look at Virgil [van Dijk] becoming captain, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] becoming vice-captain, and how they’ve stepped up again this season, I think it has given them another lift.

“It was the best thing for the club and the team, and you can see that in the performances and how they’ve done, as much as that hurts me."

Jordan Henderson on his Liverpool exit

The changes in the summer were, in hindsight, absolutely the right moves. No one expected them to have this sort of an impact, though.

Liverpool transformed their fortunes, moving from a season of struggle with an ageing side into one where they're competing on four fronts with a squad that should only improve. It's been miraculous.

Of course, that transition will also cost them Jurgen Klopp a year early, who admits he also didn't see Liverpool improving at this speed. And as Henderson admits, his era simply came to an end - as difficult as it is for any footballer to admit that.