‘Be a man’: Liverpool hero slammed after creating ‘unrest’ and ‘strange’ situation to force transfer

Dutch legend Wesley Sneijder has slammed former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who refused to be interviewed before Ajax’s Europa League win against Galatasaray.
Henderson is reportedly closing in on a transfer to French club AS Monaco.
As a result of the transfer speculation, the England international rejected the captaincy for Thursday’s fixture against Turkish giants Galatasaray.
He also turned down the chance to speak to Dutch television, with both justified by stand-in captain Remko Pasveer.
“Jordan was on the team sheet as captain, but he had external factors influencing him,” the 41-year-old goalkeeper told Dutch TV.
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Henderson’s conduct and future at Ajax was a hot topic, with Dutch legends Sneijder and Frank de Boer on punditry duty.
The latter defended the 34-year-old – who played the full 90 minutes in midfield despite being close to joining Monaco.
De Boer said: “Henderson doesn’t have to appear in front of the camera before the match. He can just concentrate on the match and then appear in front of the camera.
“I understand Pasveer. He has to do it, but this is nonsense. Henderson has other things on his mind and doesn’t feel like responding.”
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Sneijder was not quite as understanding, slamming Henderson for being “difficult” and told him to “be a man and stand up” in front of the TV cameras.
“Don’t be so difficult,” Sneijder said. “You just play that match with the armband on and then you say, ‘Yeah guys, I don’t know yet.
“Something is going on. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
“Be a man and stand up. Right now you get all this speculation and you create unrest. It could have been much calmer if he had just worn the [captain’s] armband.”
Sneijder added that the captaincy situation was “very strange”, with Henderson deciding at the last minute not to wear the armband, which should have seen him dropped from the starting XI.
“I find it very strange,” he continued. “I don’t think UEFA had even figured it out yet.
“So there must have been some kind of switch at the last moment. That does raise questions.
“I don’t know if we’ll hear an explanation from [Ajax manager Francesco] Farioli, because he probably won’t give an answer. But I find it strange.
“I think: if you choose a different captain, you shouldn’t field Henderson either.”
Henderson caused quite a stir when he left Liverpool for Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq in the 2023 summer transfer window.
He initially kept his spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad but was dropped for last summer’s European Championship, despite swapping Al Ettifaq for Ajax in January 2024.
Henderson received lots of criticism for his move to Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal.
The 34-year-old was a huge LGBTQ+ supporter but sold his soul for a huge payday in the Middle East, though some reports indicate he never received a single penny from his time in the Saudi Pro League.
His latest transfer might be money-orientated again, as you famously do not have to pay tax in Monaco.
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