Jordan Henderson has signed for Eredivisie club Ajax on a permanent deal, after agreeing to terminate his contract in Saudi Arabia two-and-a-half years early.
Henderson only played 19 times for Al-Ettifaq, with five assists in his time at captain for Steven Gerrard’s side, but he has now left the club.
It serves as a ridiculous end to a controversial transfer for the 33-year-old, who agreed the early termination of his contract amid reports that he may not even be paid his £350,000-a-week wages.
With a return to England off the table, Henderson gauged interest from clubs in Europe, with links to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus.
But now the midfielder has signed a permanent contract with Ajax, joining on what is believed to be a two-and-a-half-year deal.
He underwent his medical in Amsterdam on Thursday before putting pen to paper, with wages reported to be upwards of £100,000 a week plus bonuses, making him the Dutch club’s highest-paid player.
The move comes too soon for a debut against RKC Waalwijk on Sunday, with Henderson awaiting a work permit as a non-EU national.
That process can take up to two weeks, though it has been suggested in the local press that he could be involved for next weekend’s trip to Heracles, with a home bow likely to come against Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven on February 3.
Henderson has no chance of a reunion with Liverpool this season, though, with Ajax having dropped down from the Europa League to the Europa Conference League.
An awful start to the campaign saw Ajax win just four of their first 12 games in the Eredivisie and one of their first five in the Europa League group stage.
They have won five of the last seven since the start of December, however, with their only defeat being in the KNVB Cup.
Despite a rise up the table to fifth, though, they are 23 points behind PSV, and Henderson has his work cut out for him if he is to inspire a turnaround at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
