24 hours after Jordan Henderson officially signed for Ajax, he’s already broken an unbelievable record. He has sold the most shirts in the first 24 hours of signing for Ajax than any other player in their history.
Twitter reacts to Henderson’s Ajax shirt-selling record
Ajax supporters have gone crazy over the signing of Henderson. The club has seen the likes of Johan Cruyff, Denis Bergkamp, Marco Van Basten, Edgar Davies, Luis Suarez, Edwin Van Der Sar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic play but it’s Henderson’s debut that is most anticipated of them all.
🚨 – JUST IN: Jordan Henderson’s shirt is already the fastest-selling player shirt in Ajax HISTORY. [@ajaxlife] pic.twitter.com/DAPDpC1zGJ
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) January 19, 2024
On Twitter, there have are many football fans poking fun about this record. One user commented: “Cruyff wore the Ajax shirt, but Henderson sold more.”
A user under the name of Kuleszympans tweeted: “They got to see Zlatan, Suarez, Milik, de Jong, Eriksen, Sneijder and some other well known names but they’re screaming for Henderson.”
UTDkara also tweeted: “How do you let Henderson be your fastest selling shirt in history?”
Henderson’s Ajax journey
Henderson’s journey to sign for Ajax has been complicated. He left Liverpool in the summer after 12 years at the club to sign for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq on a three-year deal. He became one of the richest players in the world on a £700k-a-week contract. In January, it was revealed he was unhappy at the club and wanted to leave. He wasn’t happy with the supporters attendance during games and he has also struggled to adapt to the change of climate and lifestyle.
Henderson terminated his contract and is now an Ajax player.
Henderson left Saudi Arabia without receiving any of the £4million he was owed from his £8m annual salary, having deferred his wages for tax reasons.
The 33-year-old could be forced to pay Al-Ettifaq a sum of money if performance-related clauses are met in his time at Ajax. Liverpool could also make profit of the Ajax deal as they negotiated a percentage of the sell-on-clause. The clause states if Henderson left Al-Ettifaq within the first two years of his three-year contract, Liverpool would receive a percentage of the sale.
If Henderson had signed for a Premier League club instead of Ajax, he’d have to have paid a large amount of tax money from his earnings in Saudi Arabia. Henderson insisted that wasn’t the reason that persuaded him to join Ajax. He said:
“Don’t believe what you read in the press. It had nothing to do with anything but football.
“I felt it was the perfect opportunity to come to such a huge club and showcase what I’ve tried to do my whole life – to dedicate myself to football.
Henderson was asked a question over his decision to move to Al-Ettifaq in the summer and whether he now regrets it. He responded: “In life, if you want to call them regrets or mistakes, you can call them that. But they are only mistakes if you don’t learn from them.
“I learned a lot of things out in Saudi. There were a lot of different experiences. I haven’t got a bad word to say about anyone over there, the league, the club.
“The people tried to make us feel as comfortable as possible – and my family. I’ve got friends over there who I will talk to forever.
“There’s still positives to come out of it. In the end, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, but we ended it on great terms. We’ll shake hands and move forward.”
Henderson’s LGBTQ apology
Henderson’s legacy was questioned when he joined Al-Ettifaq as laws over homosexuality are alien to the laws in the UK. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community felt bretayed by Henderson’s move after all the charity work he had done for them.
“If any people from that community feel let down or hurt I apologise,” Henderson said.
“If anyone was offended or feel as though I upset them, that’s on me, that was my decision and I apologise for that. It was never my intention.
“I just want to look forward now and concentrate on being the best player I can for Ajax. My beliefs have never changed and never will. Again I can only apologise if people feel let down.”
Henderson’s Ajax debut
Henderson will make his Ajax debut on Sunday 21st January. They face RKC Waalwijk in the Eredivisie. Henderson will be hoping he can hit the ground running after all the drama and to pay back all those supporters who purchased his shirt.
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