“I refereed a lot of games with Liverpool and Jordan Henderson was the biggest trouble maker”

Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was labeled a “troublemaker” by referee Felix Brych, who also spoke about his relationship with Jurgen Klopp.

Brych will be a familiar face to Liverpool fans. The German official has taken charge of eight Liverpool matches over the years, including Champions League wins against Manchester City and Roma in 2018.

He is still an active referee, although he now works as a UEFA ambassador for Munich. Speaking to talkSPORT ahead of the start of Euro 2024, Brych lifted the lid on some of his games involving Liverpool and delivered a scathing verdict on former Reds captain Henderson.

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“I got along really well with all the players, but every game there was always my underdog,” Brych said. “Looking back at many games at Anfield with Liverpool, when I saw Jordan Henderson I knew I had to keep an eye on him.

“‘Come on, it’s not a foul, you can do it in Germany, but in England we want to let the game flow.’ It was always that kind of trash talk, but I liked it and got used to it. It was fun and games.

“He talked the whole game. Also James Milner. Sometimes he was quiet, sometimes he talked a lot, and like you, you talk in a different way. In Germany, the speech is much more aggressive. In England you speak in a different way, I knew that before the game.”

Brych also gave an insight into how his relationship with Jurgen Klopp has changed. The pair first met when Klopp was in charge in the Bundesliga, with their meetings becoming less frequent when he made the move to Anfield.

“I met Jurgen Klopp in Germany 20 years ago, but in England it was a different relationship with him,” admitted Brych. “If you know someone better than others, they think you might favor them. I cannot give any kind of bonus to anyone.”

Liverpool.com says: Henderson was always one to be quick to argue with the referee, although in fairness he was the Liverpool captain so would always have been the designated player to speak to the officials. We’re sure Brych must have dealt with a lot worse players during his career.