Xherdan Shaqiri is the archetypal midfield playmaker who has become synonymous with modern football over the past decade. Diminutive, quick, technically gifted, and versatile, when in the mood, Xherdan is literally unstoppable. He is currently playing for English Premier League side Liverpool FC.
Being something of a child protege, Shaqiri occasionally showed flashes of his brilliance at German juggernauts Bayern Munich as a youngster. He has however not been able to be a world-beater just yet but time is still on his side and being coached by Jurgen Klopp – a man with wonderful man-management skills, it is only a matter of time before Shaqiri fulfills his undoubted potential.
Xherdan Shaqiri Biography
Born in Gjilan, SFR Yugoslavia on October 10, 1991. Shaqiri is the son of Kosovar Albanian parents, Isen and Fatima. His family had to migrate to Switzerland in 1992 with his three siblings, Erdin, Medina, and Arianit. Shaqiri who is of the Muslim faith began to play youth football when he joined SV August. He then joined FC Basel’s youth team. He drew the attention of bigger European sides after he emerged as the best player in the Under-15 Nike Cup in 2007. He, however, opted to remain with the Swiss club and continue his development. He was featured for the Basel reserve squad for three years between 2007 and 2009.
Xherdan Shaqiri signed professional terms with the club in early January of 2009. His debut came against FC St. Gallen on 12 July 2009. His first-ever goal for Basel came in a 4-1 win over Neuchatel Xamax in November of the same year. By the end of that season, he did the league and cup double in Switzerland, retaining the title in the following season. He began to once more garner attention when in a Champions League game against Manchester United in December 2011, he provided 2 assists. In his final season with Basel, the team did another domestic double.
Xherdan Shaqiri moved on to the biggest team in Germany – Bayern Munich in 2012. The deal was worth 11.6 million Euros and he signed a contract that would see him earn 2 million euros every season. Shaqiri’s Bayern debut came in a convincing 4-0 win over SSV Jahn Regensburg in a DFB-Pokal. He scored once and provided two assists. He repeated the same feat in the Champions League against BATE Borisov.
He made few appearances for the first team at Bayern with his opportunities diminishing with each season. In his first season, he made 26 appearances scoring 4, by the next season he made 17 appearances scoring 6 goals and in his final season, he made 9 appearances and scored a single goal. He was part of the Bayern team to win their first treble in history.
He moved to Inter Milan in the winter window of 2015 for 15 million euros, debuting on January 17, 2015. Shaqiri scored his first Inter Milan goal against Sampdoria in a Coppa Italia game. He spent just one season at Inter Milan scoring three goals in 20 appearances. He then made the move to the English side of Stoke City who had been interested in his services before his move to the San Siro.
The deal that brought Shaqiri to the Britannia Stadium was worth 12 million pounds, a club record outlay for a player. He signed on the dotted lines to become a Stoke City player on 11 August 2015. On his debut, he provided an assist in a 1-1 draw with Norwich City. When Shaqiri scored his first goal for Stoke, it was a brace in a 4-3 win over Everton on December 28, 2015.
By the end of his first season at Stoke, he had made 32 appearances and scored 3 times. On the opening day of the next season, he scored but was ruled out for the next month and a half. In his second season, he made 22 appearances and scored four goals. In his final season with the Potters, Shaqiri made 38 appearances and scored eight goals. Stoke City suffered relegation to the English second division after a poor season.
Shaqiri transferred to Liverpool in July 2018 after his 13.5 million release clause was activated. He scored a stunning overhead kick in a 4-1 friendly win over Manchester United. He is a full international with 74 caps to his name. He has also scored 21 times for his national side.
Wife
With the lure and glamour that comes with playing football at the top, there is always a curiosity about a footballer’s love life. But in the case of Xherdan Shaqiri, there has been no concrete report of him having a wife or being involved romantically with any lady. He has kept that info strictly to himself.
Height, Weight
If you have ever seen Shaqiri in action, his sturdy physique is a striking feature. His game is built around his speed and technical ability rather than an imposing physical frame. He stands at a height of 5 feet 6 ½ inches and weighs in at 158 pounds.
