Xherdan Shaqiri has revealed that Bayern Munich once blocked his move to Liverpool and explained how he eventually ended up playing for Jürgen Klopp.
On his former club Stoke City's "Potters' Pod" podcast, the Swiss player said he had not wanted to leave the Potters. Their bitter relegation from the Premier League to the second-tier Championship made his departure incredibly difficult.
"If we had stayed up, I would have liked to stay, because after three years I felt at home," said the 35-year-old. The drop into the second tier left him "very disappointed". Shaqiri stressed that he had been "devastated": "I tried my best, gave everything, but in the end something wasn't right and we were relegated."
With eight goals and seven assists, Shaqiri was one of Stoke's few bright spots in a poor season. Liverpool then activated a relegation release clause worth around €15 million. "Jürgen Klopp called me, and in the end I think it was the right decision, because after that I won everything with Liverpool and we had a successful time," he said.
The Reds won the Premier League, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup with Shaqiri, among other trophies. His Liverpool spell could have begun earlier. The club had approached him in 2014, seeking to prise him away from Bayern Munich, but the German record champions refused.
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"They contacted me and of course I wanted to move, but Bayern Munich said no," Shaqiri said. Six months later, a lack of playing time prompted him to join Inter Milan for €15 million. He moved to Stoke City the following summer for €17 million. Shaqiri is still playing at 35. He returned to his boyhood club FC Basel in the summer of 2024 and remains under contract until the end of the season.
Across 63 appearances for Liverpool, Shaqiri scored eight goals and provided nine assists. The highlight of his career was the 4-0 semi-final victory over Barcelona in the 2018/19 season, after the Catalans had won the first leg 3-0. Shaqiri set up one of the goals. "I think it was also one of the best days of my life," he said.
Shaqiri left Anfield after three years to join Olympique Lyon in France. He spent a little more than two years in MLS with Chicago Fire, Robert Lewandowski's current club, before returning to Basel.