Mo Salah has requested that Jordan Henderson receive the “farewell he deserved,” when Liverpool play Brentford on the final day of the season.
Liverpool’s last game of the campaign will be Henderson’s first return to the Anfield turf since he left in the summer of 2023.
Unlike several players who flourished during the Jurgen Klopp era, the surprise nature of Henderson’s departure meant he didn’t receive a big Anfield goodbye.
“He didn’t get that send-off or farewell he deserved, because he left immediately,” Salah told TNT Sports.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, October 3, 2022: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (L) celebrates with team-mate captain Jordan Henderson after scoring the second goal, from a penalty kick, during the UEFA Champions League Group A matchday 3 game between Liverpool FC and Glasgow Rangers FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“People in the city know how much it meant to Hendo also, being here captain of the club for 12 years, more than me, more than Virg, more than anyone.”
Henderson left Liverpool for £12 million in 2023 when he joined Al-Ettifaq, where Steven Gerrard was manager.
The captain had become less of a regular in the side, starting on 29 occasions in 2022/23 as opposed to 43 times across the previous campaign.
Henderson didn’t want to become a squad player and, with a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, he made the surprise move that would last just six months before signing for Ajax.
Now, with Henderson back in the Premier League, Salah wants the club to make the most of a day on which he and Andy Robertson will be the centre of attention as they close the curtain on nine years at Anfield.
Salah continued:
“I don’t know how the club is going to manage it, I have no plan, I don’t know how the supporters will also manage it.
“But I really wish they do something special for him because he’s been one of the best players in this club and, without him and being there in the dressing room, we wouldn’t have achieved what we achieved.
“So I really hope the fans will give him a good send-off.
“I really hope so because again, he’s somebody you guys maybe not in the dressing room don’t know much what’s going on there.
“You (speaking to Steven Gerrard) are aware of that. You played with him, you know how much he is passionate and he loves the club, so I really wish the club would do something for him and the fans can do something special for him, because this is Liverpool and we do it this way.”
Jordan Henderson found Liverpool exit “really difficult”
LONDON, ENGLAND - Saturday, October 24, 2025: Brentford's Jordan Henderson during the FA Premier League match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC at the Brentford Community Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Henderson is one of four ex-Liverpool players in the Brentford squad, the others being Caoimhin Kelleher, Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg.
Of course, the latter two didn’t have a big impact, but Henderson and Kelleher are remembered fondly – and the former captain found his exit difficult.
Speaking in October, Henderson was brutally honest about his departure and even compared it to a break-up:
“Leaving Liverpool itself was huge and really difficult and at any point it was going to be hard because it had been my life for so long and then it is just gone like that…so I have struggled for a period after that.
“No, I couldn’t watch a lot of games, I certainly couldn’t watch Liverpool. I didn’t watch a lot of Premier League stuff then… probably picked the right place for that, I was half way around the world!
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, April 22, 2023: Liverpool's captain Jordan Henderson during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“Yeah, it was tough but when you leave Liverpool because I was there for so long because I had such an attachment and I dedicated a large part of my life there, when I left I found it really difficult and I suppose whatever I did or wherever I went.
“I don’t know what it felt like, it felt like a break-up, it was just difficult and I think if you asked a lot of players when they left a club, not just Liverpool but when you have been at a club for so long and you have that attachment to them whether you retire or move on.
“I think for a period of time that was hard but within time things change, you move on but I would say that was probably the most difficult time.”
Given Henderson’s contribution to the club, we would expect him to get a warm reception at Anfield. Now, at Salah’s request, the onus is on the club and the Kop to make it a day to remember.
It will be a real changing of the guard.