Van der Vaart hits out at Henderson criticism in defence of ex-Liverpool star

The ex-Liverpool captain has rarely been out of the headlines since leaving Anfield in 2023.

An ill-fated six-month spell in the Saudi Pro League saw him return to Europe with the four-time European Cup winners.

Henderson signed a two-and-a-half year contract at Ajax in January 2024 and quietly delivered for the Eredivisie leaders, although the 34-year-old hasn't exactly been the darling of the Dutch media.

Expectations were high upon Henderson's arrival in Amsterdam despite Ajax's perilous league position.

However, Henderson has helped propel the club back to it's usual heights with Ajax on cusp of a first league title since 2022.

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Sections of the Dutch media have at times been left unimpressed by his impact, with Van der Vaart himself initially not a fan of the acquisition of Henderson when he signed.

But former Ajax, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Netherlands ace Van Der Vaart feels the criticism of Henderson of late hasn't been justified.

"I think Henderson is a really good player but he also needs to play in a team like Liverpool where has so much quality around him that he is the player that holds everybody together," Van Der Vaart told talkSPORT.

"Now, because he's a big name and he came to Ajax, everybody in Holland had high expectations because he's a big player from Liverpool and the England squad.

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"They expected that he was going to play every ball like [Andrea] Pirlo did back in the day. That's not his game.

"When he played against the better teams like PSV and Feyenoord then he was always the best player on the pitch because Ajax didn't have a lot of time with the ball.

"He's so important for Ajax and for the youngsters. I'm quite happy with him, but I think in Holland, the expectations were a little bit too high."

During the January transfer window, rumours circulated that Henderson was interested in a switch to AS Monaco.

Reports in the Netherlands claimed that the midfielder was in discussions with Ajax to cut short his contract to enable a move to the Ligue 1 side.

But the switch did not materialise and last month Henderson hit out at the Dutch press regarding the 'lies' around his future.

Henderson said: "Everyone knows the club's financial situation. Money has to be created and that can be done by letting big earners leave. I am one of the big earners. It's often about my salary in the media. The situation was that we had to decide whether it was worth pivoting or keeping my salary in this case.

"Those were difficult conversations," he added. "I said what I thought, but we jointly came to the conclusion that I should stay. I am happy with that. I will give everything for the club and the team.

"Of course I am happy to stay. My plan was to stay here at least until the end of the season and then re-evaluate. A lot of things were taken out of context in the press. That was disrespectful, they were lies.

"Untruths were told about me as a person. I tried to focus, but it feels painful. People may criticise me because of my game, but when it gets personal.

"I am a human being with family, parents, a wife and children. If they read things in the press that are not true, that is going too far. I don't know what their sources are, but it is not true."

Ajax technical director Alex Kroes recently revealed that Henderson has never felt valued since arriving at the club.

Kroes explained that Henderson's price tag has weighed heavily on him with the star earning a reported £74,000-a-week on top of £1.28million in signing fees.

"What has been going on with Jordan is that he has not felt wanted at Ajax from minute one," Kroes told De Telegraaf.

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"That is not because of me, the trainer, the management or the people around him.

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"But in the Netherlands, everyone always has an opinion about something. And with him, the label 'far too expensive' was put on him far too quickly.

"At some point, that also starts to eat away at a person. That is a great shame, because his value to Ajax is more than enormous."