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Ex-Liverpool director was sacked for signing Henderson

Cape Town - Liverpool's former director of football Damien Comolli believes that he was sacked for signing Jordan Henderson back in 2011.

Comolli brought Henderson to Anfield from Sunderland for £16 million, but his decision to do so did not pay off initially as the 26-year-old only scored twice and notched up four assists in 48 appearances in all competitions during his first year.

With Henderson having had a sub-par season, Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, decided to axe Comolli.

Since his disastrous first season, Henderson has gone on to become a key player for the Reds, and replaced Steven Gerrard as captain last year.

Furthermore, Henderson’s leadership role has now extended past Liverpool as he captained England for the first time in their World Cup qualifier with Slovenia on Tuesday.

"He is one of the main reasons I got sacked," Comolli told talkSPORT. "The day I got sacked, they (Liverpool's owners) 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. He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued.

"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."

Comolli also insisted that he and then manager, Kenny Dalglish, both believed that signing Henderson was a decision that would pay off in the long run.

"I was totally convinced, as was Kenny, that we were doing the right thing for the club," he said. "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 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.

"For a player who was so young, playing not in a top side, with all due respect to Sunderland, he was producing and creating more quality chances, or least as much, as top quality players in the Premier League."
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