SHAQIRI BITING BAYERN On THE ARSE

Although lifting eight trophies in two and a half years may not seem like a reason to be frustrated, that’s how Xherdan Shaqiri felt at Bayern Munich.

“After three or four games without being selected, I wanted to leave,” he once admitted. When Basel’s rising star joined Bayern in 2012 (the Swiss club signed Mo Salah to replace him), many expected the 20-year-old to swiftly become one of Europe’s best players. It didn’t happen. Unable to oust Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery, he got two minutes of game time in the knockout rounds as Bayern won the Champions League in his first season at the club.

Injuries didn’t help, and nor did Pep Guardiola’s arrival: the manager called Shaqiri his ‘most important bench player’, but reports suggested he didn’t think Shaqiri had the intelligence he wanted from a player in his starting XI.

Nicknamed ‘Der Kraftwurfel’ (‘The Powercube’) by Bayern’s fans, Shaqiri grew ever more dissatisfied – especially when a move to Liverpool was blocked in 2014. “Brendan Rodgers called me several times, but Bayern didn’t allow me to leave,” he later complained. At the time, former 64-cap Swiss forward Kubilay Turkyilmaz insisted it might be for the best. “The Premier League is not Shaq’s league,” he said. “The best choice for him would be Dortmund – Jurgen Klopp’s football suits him.”

Six months later, Bayern sold him to Inter for €15 million – a poor return on their €11.6m investment, given his age when he arrived. Shaqiri had to take the long route to Anfield, via Stoke, and he has indeed flourished under Klopp – six league goals by Boxing Day equalled his best tally for a whole season at Bayern.

In and out of Klopp’s team, he’s now more patient than he was in Germany, but he will have a point to prove if he’s picked to face Bayern for the first time since his exit. They’d be well advised not to let him shuffle onto his left foot within 25 yards of goal, for a start.