“I responded back with ‘behave, YOU are the captain’” - Ajax forward on captaincy disagreement with Jordan Henderson
Ajax forward Steven Berghuis has revealed why he had a slight disagreement with Jordan Henderson after the latter gave him the captain's armband. This occurred during Ajax's 3-1 win against Vojvodina on Thursday, August 1.
Jordan Henderson was given the captain's armband in the second leg of the second qualifying round for the Europa League. The former Liverpool midfielder did well to ensure his side progressed to the next round with a 4-1 win on aggregate.
Ajax vice-captain Berghuis came on as a second-half substitute and was given the captain's armband by Henderson. The former revealed he didn't like that as he considered Henderson the real captain due to his success at Liverpool.
After the game, Berghuis said (via Ziggo Sport, h/t @TheEuropeanLad):
"I asked Jordan Henderson why he made me captain. Last game he didn't make me a captain and he texted me on Whatsapp saying: 'you are the vice-captain, I should have given you the armband..' I responded back with 'behave, YOU are the captain, with everything you experienced at Liverpool".
Henderson established himself as one of the greatest captains in Liverpool's history between 2011 and 2023. The 34-year-old scored 33 goals and provided 59 assists in 492 appearances across competitions, helping the Reds win eight trophies.
How has Jordan Henderson fared since leaving Liverpool last summer?
Liverpool fans were caught off-guard when Jordan Henderson decided to leave the club in the middle of the summer transfer window last year. Let's take a look at how he fared last season since making that decision:
Henderson opted to sign for Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League for a reported transfer fee of £12 million. Despite providing five assists in 19 appearances, the former England international was unhappy at the club and left in January 2024 after his contract was mutually terminated.
He then made the bold decision to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with Ajax, despite reportedly being keen on joining Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. Ajax struggled last season, finishing fifth in the Eredivisie, while Henderson couldn't make the biggest of impacts either, garnering three assists in 14 appearances across competitions.