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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson insists he cannot wait to get started on a new challenge after completing a controversial move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq. The 33-year-old brought to an end a 12-year stay at Anfield in which he won every major trophy by finalising a three-year deal with reported wages of up to £700,000 a week. Henderson, who posted a farewell message to Reds fans on Wednesday, took to Instagram again after his signing was confirmed. “Delighted to announce I’ve signed for @ettifaq. New challenge ahead, can’t wait to get going. Welcome to Saudi Arabia,” he wrote. Liverpool are due to receive an initial £12million for the England international, who will be reunited with his former team-mate Steven Gerrard who is manager at the Saudi Pro League club. “There is no doubt that Henderson is a distinguished addition,” said Al-Ettifaq vice-president Professor Hatem Al-Mishal. “We completed the deal after the recommendation of sports director Elko Chatori and the technical staff led by English coach Steven Gerrard, who accompanied him as a player and knows his capabilities.” Henderson was seen training with his new team-mates at a camp in Croatia in a fan video posted on social media, which will have caused Liverpool some embarrassment even though it was hastily deleted. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to his departing captain. “I know it was a really, really tough decision for Hendo and I was around or with him all the way,” he told the club’s website. “It’s sad, absolutely strange, because he is the only captain I had here at Liverpool, but I think it is exciting for him as well. “We will miss him, without a shadow of a doubt, that’s clear – as a man and as a player. But, as I said, that’s football.” However, Henderson’s move had attracted criticism due to his long-time support of LGBT+ issues and the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, while the state stands accused of a host of other abuses including placing harsh restrictions on women’s rights and the right to political protest. Al-Ettifaq’s video montage to announce Henderson’s arrival mixes colour and black and white footage but in the majority of the images the captain’s armband he is wearing – including both the LGBT+ rainbow and UEFA’s No to Racism – is greyed out. “Jordan Henderson is of course free to play for whoever he chooses, but we would urge him to examine Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and be prepared to speak out about human rights violations in the country,” Amnesty’s UK economic affairs director Peter Frankental told the PA news agency last week. Pride in Football, a network of LGBT+ fan groups, said in a statement: “When you see someone who has been an ally so publicly transfer to a club in a country where LGBT+ people are attacked and imprisoned, it is disappointing. “Good luck in Saudi Arabia Jordan, but you have lost the respect of so many people who valued you and trusted you.” Henderson joins a growing list of players moving to Saudi Arabia. However, one player who will not be heading to the Middle East is Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, who reportedly refused to meet Al-Hilal officials in Paris on Wednesday after his club accepted what would be a world-record transfer fee of £259million. PSG believe Mbappe, who has 12 months left on his contract, has already agreed a free transfer to Real Madrid but their willingness to listen to offers for the 24-year-old has led to speculation linking him to the Premier League. However, the financial implications of such a move would be beyond almost all the clubs in the top flight. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Today at the World Cup: Australia rocked by Nigeria as Portugal earn first win Today is a sad day for me – David Silva waves goodbye to football Manchester United confident of signing striker as Rasmus Hojlund talks continue

Barnsley head coach Michael Duff has expressed admiration for Sheffield Wednesday counterpart Darren Moore before Monday’s Sky Bet League One play-off final. The pair go head-to-head at Wembley on Monday when the two South Yorkshire rivals clash in the third tier’s winner-takes-all season finale. Barnsley edged past Bolton 1-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, while Wednesday overcame the biggest first-leg deficit in play-off history before beating Peterborough on penalties. Moore silenced the Owls fans who had called for him to be sacked after his side’s 4-0 first-leg defeat appeared to have left them dead and buried and Duff paid tribute to his rival manager. Duff said: “Darren deserves loads of credit because one thing he’s done the whole season, when weirdly there’s been a bit of noise about him when they got 96 points this season, is keep his counsel because he’s a good fella. “First and foremost, he’s a good fella. He’s obviously a football man, he’s been around it a long, long time. “I don’t know what he’s like as a manager in terms of day-to-day stuff, but you take people as you find them and we’ve beaten them twice and he’s been humble, he’s taken it. “He says ‘fair play to you’ and shakes your hand. No excuses afterwards that some managers come out with. He said ‘better team won’ and I think that goes a long way just as a human being.” Barnsley completed the league double over the Owls this season for the first time since 2009, winning 2-0 at Hillsborough in September and 4-2 at Oakwell in March. But they finished 10 points adrift of their local rivals in the table, with the Owls’ 96-point tally more than any other side not to finish in the top two of any league in English football’s history. That did not stop the vitriol that came Moore’s way after his side’s 4-0 semi-final first-leg defeat at Peterborough. Was he a terrible manager when they got beaten 4-0? No. And he's become an even better manager now because of the belief he gave them Michael Duff on Darren Moore Some fans called for his head before the return leg, while Wednesday were forced to issue a statement condemning a racist message directed at Moore on social media. “It shows you the emotional state people can get into,” Duff said. “Darren’s a good manager, full stop. “Was he a terrible manager when they got beaten 4-0? No. And he’s become an even better manager now because of the belief he gave them. “Things he said in interviews and in the dressing room, things he showed the players. Good management. He managed to get the best out of it.” Barnsley finished fourth in the table, one place below Wednesday, and their 86-point haul would have been enough for automatic promotion in three of the last 10 seasons. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry Kane taking inspiration from greats as he eyes another decade at top On this day in 2015: England hire Trevor Bayliss as head coach England’s Harry Hall takes three-shot lead in Texas with career-best outing

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