Jordan Henderson captained Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League success before handing the armband over to Virgil van Dijk when he left the club last summer

Jordan Henderson’s admission that the time was right for him to hand over the Liverpool captain’s armband last summer has been backed up by the good friend he gave it to.

England midfielder Henderson ended a 12-year spell at Anfield when he joined Saudi side Al-Ettifaq last year, only to quickly move on to Ajax in January after a difficult time in the Middle East.

The 33-year-old’s exit came amidst a raft of changes at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp overhauled his squad ahead of what we’d come to discover would be his final season in charge, and speaking last month Henderson admitted that those changes were needed.

“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,” said Henderson ahead of Ajax’s clash with Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League.

“It’s football and you move on. I’m so happy it’s worked out for them so far and I’ve just got my fingers crossed it can be a fairytale end for Jurgen because he deserves it.”

Elaborating on his exit, Henderson said: “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.

Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk played alongside each other for five-and-a-half years (
Image:
Offside via Getty Images)
“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.”

And while Van Dijk was sorry to see his close friend go, he says that the shake-up in the club’s playing hierarchy was inevitable.

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“Jordan is a good friend of mine and we’ve been through everything together,” said Van Dijk, speaking after being announced as an ambassador for Expedia.

Henderson lifted the Premier League title for Liverpool in 2020 (
Image:
Laurence Griffiths/NMC/Pool/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
“He’s been one of the best captains Liverpool have had, with everything we achieved. He was amazing for the club and that won’t change. But in football things happen like this.

“Players eventually move on and other players have to step up. The moment he left then things were going to shift, especially with our vice-captain James Milner leaving before him too. There were always going to be some changes in the squad, and new roles for different players, including me, but things like this happen and others have to step up and I think we all have done that.”

Virgil van Dijk is a new ambassador for Expedia (
Image:
Expedia)

With Van Dijk appointed as the club’s new captain and Alexander-Arnold as his deputy, the pair can also call upon the rest of the Reds’ leadership group’ of Andy Robertson, Alisson and Mohamed Salah for advice, and Van Dijk says everyone has stepped up this season.

“You have to do things together,” he adds. “It’s good to have different opinions in order to make the right decision when it has to be made. We definitely have certain things to be discussed, they can be small or big, and we have to rely on each other and it is working very well.

“The players in the group have all stepped up and are enjoying that responsibility. You have to do it together, and that’s what we try to do, and it’s going pretty well.”