‘Henderson is one of the main reasons I got sacked’ – Comolli

Oli Fisher
Damien Comolli: Believes he was sacked due to Henderson signing

Damien Comolli: Believes he was sacked due to Henderson signing

Liverpool’s former director of football Damien Comolli has claimed that he was dismissed from his position at Anfield due to ‘wasting money’ on Jordan Henderson.

The Fenway Sports Group were reportedly unhappy with returns made on investment, and subsequently relieved the Frenchman of his role in 2012.

Comolli negotiated with Sunderland in order to complete the £16million deal for Henderson, and was also behind the signing of players such as Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam, who were bought for a combined £62million.

“Henderson is one of the main reasons I got sacked,” he told talkSPORT.

“The day I got sacked they told me I had made a big mistake on Jordan and he was a waste of money.

“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think we paid the right price.”

Henderson has gone on to become Liverpool captain and has worn the armband for Englandafter a tough start to life at Anfield.

“He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued. But we were more than happy to pay the price because we thought he would become an outstanding player.

“I never said it publicly, but I was convinced he would be the future captain. People will say it is easy to say now, but I was convinced at the time that he would become the Liverpool captain. Now he is and he is also the England captain.”

 

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Henderson has gone on to play 221 times for Liverpool, amassing 23 goals and 35 assists, after spells with Coventry City and Sunderland.

Comolli continued: “I was totally convinced, as was Kenny (Dalglish), that we were doing the right thing for the club.

“He fitted the profile we were looking for. We knew he was an outstanding person, we knew he had leadership skills, we knew he was totally dedicated to football, to his passion, and we knew he was someone who wanted to improve on a day to day basis.

“We knew his physical abilities – his fitness stats were absolutely unbelievable. We were looking at statistics and we were going through a lot of midfield players in the Premier League and what amazed me and caught my eye was his ability to create quality chances.”