[Archive 2018-07-14] Swiss footballer Xherdan Shaqiri joins Liverpool

Historical archive — originally published 2018-07-14. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Yesterday, Swiss footballer Xherdan Shaqiri joined Liverpool FC on a "long-term contract", the English Premier League club announced via their official website. According to multiple reports, Liverpool exercised the £13 million release clause in his contract with Stoke City.

26-year-old Shaqiri joined Stoke in August 2015 from Italian club Internazionale for a reported fee of £12 million. In three seasons at Stoke City, Shaqiri made 84 league appearances scoring fifteen goals, 92 appearances in all competitions for The Potters. Last season, Stoke City were relegated to the EFL Championship.

Before playing in England, Shaqiri played for FC Basel in Switzerland, Bayern Munich in Germany, as well as for Internazionale. He won six league titles with Basel and Bayern, as well as the UEFA Champions League with Bayern in 2013, defeating Borussia Dortmund in the finals which were then managed by Jürgen Klopp.

Internationally, Shaqiri has scored 21 goals in 74 appearances. In this year's FIFA World Cup, Shaqiri played all four matches, before losing out to Sweden in the Last 16 knockout phase. He scored one goal in the tournament, a 90th-minute winner against Serbia.

Klopp also said of Shaqiri, "He has speed and ability, has the right amount of arrogance on the football pitch, real bravery to want the ball and influence things".

Shaqiri has been allocated jersey number 23. This season, Liverpool has signed Naby Keita from RB Leipzig and Fabinho from AS Monaco.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Swiss footballer Xherdan Shaqiri joins Liverpool by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.