LONDON: Two more Premier League veterans are heading for one last payday in Saudi Arabia. Jordan Henderson is leaving iverpool for £12m plus add-ons for Al-Ettifaq and Riyad Mahrez is expected to quit Manchester City for Al Ahli.

Henderson travelled to Germany with Liverpool for their training camp but was not involved in their 4-2 friendly win over Karlsruher. The England midfielder, 33, has two years left on his contract at Anfield.

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was recently appointed as manager of Al-Ettifaq.

The agreement for Henderson follows Liverpool receiving a £40m offer from Al-Ittihad for fellow midfielder Fabinho last Friday.

Unlike Henderson, the 29-year-old Brazil international did not travel to Germany while his future is resolved.

Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez, 32, has been given permission not to travel on Manchester City’s pre-season trip to Japan and South Korea. He had two years left on his contract with the European and English champions.

City paid £60m for Mahrez in 2018 and he scored 15 goals from 47 games in the Blues’ Treble-winning season.

However, he was an unused substitute for both the FA Cup and Champions League finals and manager Pep Guardiola has opted to let him join the list of big-name recruits by the SPL this summer.

Liverpool have also agreed a £12m deal in principle worth £12m plus add-ons to sell England midfielder Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq.

The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves have already followed Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia this summer, while Steven Gerrard has been named Al-Ettifaq manager and Michael Emenalo has been appointed the SPL’s director of football.

The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also taken over four of the SPL’s leading clubs, including Al-Ahli, as the league aims to become one of the top five in the world.

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