Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson reveals difficult conversation with Brendan Rodgers in first season

Speaking on BT Sport’s Between the Lines, as quoted by Liverpool Echo, club captain Jordan Henderson has opened up on his struggles in his first season at Anfield.

Henderson joined the Reds from Sunderland in 2011 for a reported fee of £16 million. However, the move did not go as planned, with the English midfielder being told that he was surplus to requirements at Anfield by then-coach Brendan Rodgers.

The Reds had even negotiated a fee with Fulham to sell the then 20-year-old at the end of the season, but the move broke down as Henderson could not reach an agreement on personal terms.

Henderson recalls a particular conversation with the current Leicester boss which made him break down into tears.

“I had a conversation with Brendan. Brendan said, ‘you are not going to be starting as much as you would like’. I cried a little bit and was devastated. It wasn’t really an option for me to leave”

The English midfielder added that he remembered this conversation like it happened yesterday. However, he was quick to give credit to Rodgers for developing him as a player and acknowledged that it was more the club that wanted him to leave than the manager.

“To be fair to Brendan, he gave me the option, it was more the club that was willing to let me go.

From being unwanted to becoming a club legend

To imagine that the Reds could have lost their club captain back in 2012 itself is frightening. Henderson may have had one foot outside the door but his desire and determination to succeed at Anfield are what has made him a Liverpool legend today.

As Henderson recalls, it was his decision to dig his heels in and want to play for the Reds that has made it possible for him to become the club legend that he is today.

“I said straightaway: ‘I ain’t going anywhere. I will do everything I can to get in the team.'”

The midfielder has now played in excess of 400 games for the Merseysiders, and at 32 he is showing no signs of slowing down. Klopp still starts Henderson in almost every other game and the player continues performing at a very high level.

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This Henderson-Liverpool affair as it is known today was in danger of being nipped away right at the bud. It could have easily been a ‘what could have been’ story, but through sheer passion, determination, drive and focus, Henderson has become synonymous with Liverpool today.