Liverpool ace Xherdan Shaqiri has been the subject of a stinging attack from Swiss manager Arno Rossini.
The Reds midfielder has just become a Premier League winner at Anfield after Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last week, but Rossini has laid into him for his minimal role in Jurgen Klopp’s side’s success.
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Few could argue that Shaqiri has not really been anything other than a squad player in his time at Liverpool, and it does seem like his career has failed to live up to the hype that surrounded him as a youngster.
The Switzerland international looked a huge prospect at FC Basel earlier in his career, and this earned him a move to Bayern Munich in 2012, though he failed to really make his mark there.
Shaqiri later shone at Stoke City to earn his move to Liverpool, but he once again hasn’t looked ideally suited for playing regularly at a big club.
Still, Rossini’s harsh words on the 28-year-old seem a little over the top, as he told tio that he is “not a champion” and suggested he’s just happy to sit on the bench and pick up his pay packet.
“Xherdan is not a champion,” Rossini said.
“We certainly cannot say that he left his mark with the teams with which he won. Not with the big guys at least. He was the protagonist in Basel, certainly not at Bayern or Liverpool.
“Once, me and my wife partied with George Clooney and Megan Fox and came home at 6am. The day after, I scored a goal and assisted against Werder in the Champions League. After I saw that was possible, I wasn’t afraid to repeat it.” – Who said this? Click here to read more.
“Let’s say that over the years he has often followed the games of his teams as a spectator, sitting in the best places. And millions have also been paid for it.
“This, taking everything into account, makes me think that the Swiss is not one who always gives his best. If not as owner, at least one important reserve role, from first choice on the bench, would otherwise have managed to carve it out. Instead nothing. Only the crumbs, for a disheartening situation.
“Of course, Xherdan is filling the bulletin board and seeing his bank account grow dramatically; I don’t know how many, in ten years, will remember him thinking about the great teams in which he has played.”