Henderson: Leaving Liverpool was like going through a breakup, I was there for 12 years

 11:17am, 8 October 2025

According to the Liverpool Echo, England midfielder Henderson, who currently plays for Brentford, admitted in an interview recently that he has been unable to let go of his feelings since then, saying that he has survived one of the most difficult periods of his career.

"The days I left Liverpool were very difficult, I played there for 12 years, and leaving was a huge blow to me, very hard, because it was the whole of my life, and suddenly it was all over... So I really struggled for a while after that. After that, I couldn't watch a lot of games, especially Liverpool, and at that time I almost didn't watch Premier League games... Maybe I chose the right refuge at the time, in another place in the world!"

"It was hard, when you left someone you gave to When I was born in the club most of my time, that feeling was hard to say, like a breakup, it was so painful. I think if you ask more players, when they leave a long-term club, they will feel similar whether they retire or transfer. As time goes by, the situation will change, and people will see it before, but that is probably my most difficult period."

After leaving Liverpool, Henderson's national team career seemed to have come to an end, but he was recently selected to Tuchel's English roster and has hope of participating in next year's World Cup. Faced with doubts, Henderson said: "I think I've been using these questions as my motivation to move forward throughout my career. Everyone has his characteristics and there are different ways to deal with them. For me, it's already part of my personality. I always need to prove myself somewhere, and I don't think that situation will change."

"It was hard to accept criticism when I was young, and now it's much easier. I think it's not a bad thing to go through something like this, and when you come out and look back, you'll find it's all worth it. Of course there will be hard times. I won't deny that. But when you finally get out of the way and look back, you will find that you have learned a lot, which makes you stronger and makes you think about problems differently. If you can use these experiences correctly, they will help you, and that's what I've been trying to do. I'm certainly not perfect, and I've made mistakes in my career. But I've always tried to do the right thing, help the people around me as much as possible, learn from negative experiences, improve myself, and help my team. I do this wherever I am."