Jordan Henderson insists he’s unfazed ‘whether people believe me or not’ over his reasons to move to Saudi Arabia – but admits ‘it’s not nice’ to have England fans boo him following jeers during friendly win over Australia

Jordan Henderson has claimed he does not understand why England supporters turned on him on Friday night.

The midfielder was booed during England’s 1-0 win over Australia, a clear reaction to his decision to leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia during the summer transfer window.

Henderson was once revered as a staunch advocate for equality and inclusion – particularly for the LGBT community. But his move to Al-Ettifaq has seen his social standing plummet given Saudi’s notorious human rights record – particularly regarding homosexuality.

Gareth Southgate threw his support behind Henderson after Friday’s friendly, saying he couldn’t understand why England supporters had booed the 33-year-old midfielder.

And Henderson, who captained the team against the Aussies, is also struggling to comprehend the negative reaction. Asked whether he understood supporters booing him, Henderson responded: ‘Not really. I don’t know… do you?

England boss Gareth Southgate threw his support behind Henderson after Friday’s friendly

‘Everybody has got their own opinion. I love playing for England, I have done for many years, that’s why I’m still here.

‘I still want to play for England for as long as I possibly can and give everything for the team, for my country.

‘It’s not nice, your own fans booing. But listen, people have got their own opinions. Whenever I bump into anyone on the street it’s always been positive stuff and nice things said.

‘It won’t change who I am and what I do for this team and for my country. I give absolutely everything every time.

‘If people want to boo if I’m playing in a different country, that’s fine. Everyone is going to have an opinion when I’m playing over in Saudi. I’ve spoken in the past about the reasons for that. Whether people believe me or not is up to them.

‘The gaffer (Southgate) has been really good as always. I’ve always felt support and backing from him and the rest of the lads. So it’s nice to know that you’ve got the backing of the manager and your team-mates but that’s never been in doubt for me.’

Asked in particular about whether he had been surprised by accusations he has betrayed the LGBT community, Henderson responded: ‘No, because I can understand the reasons in what they’re saying. I look at it from a different point of view, obviously.

‘But I can understand it and I’ve got to take that on the chin. But as I keep on saying, it doesn’t change the person that I am.

Henderson says that he doesn’t want to get into politics and wants to focus on football

‘I’m playing football in a different country in Saudi where I want to try to improve the game on the pitch but also things off the pitch as well.

‘I’m not a politician. I’m not going to get into politics. All I’ve ever done is concentrate on my football and try to help people that have asked for my help.’

Henderson has come in for further criticism in recent days after helping to promote Saudi’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup. He added: ‘I’ve been there for two months and there’s been no issues in terms of fans or anything like that.

‘I think they’ll enjoy the experience there. When we look at Qatar, the way they did the job there – it was a good tournament.

‘I think the fans enjoyed the tournament and I think Saudi would be no different.’