Xherdan Shaqiri has completed his move to FC Basel. The 33-year-old attacking midfielder signed a three-year contract on Friday and will return to the Swiss club after 12 years.
Shaqiri joined Basel's youth academy and broke into the first team in the 2009/10 season. At St. Jakob-Park, the Kosovo-born player was forced to move to Bayern Munich. His career then took him to Internazionale, Stoke City, Liverpool, Olympique Lyonnais and Chicago Fire. Foreign adventures are over as Shaqiri will be wearing the Basel shirt again.
The veteran has proven that Shaqiri is still hungry for the European Championship in Germany. With a wonderful goal against Scotland, Shaqiri scored for the sixth time in a row in the final of the tournament. He has won the World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022 and the European Championship in 2016, 2021 and 2024. The length of his contract with Basel (three years) shows once again that Shaqiri is not satisfied yet.
so proud and happy
“I am very proud and happy to be able to return to Basel,” Shaqiri, who retired from international football after the European Championship, told the club's website. “I have been closely connected to the club and the region since I was younger. As a fan and of course as a player. This is where my international career began. I can't wait to see our supporters again.”
Basel could make good use of Shaqiri's attacking impulses. The Swiss club, where Finn van Bremen also plays, is only seventh in the Super League after four matches. Basel have won two and lost two. Tomorrow the club visits Soepingen in the first round of the cup.
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