Shaqiri: "Even Ronaldinho couldn't do much in this Stoke side..."
The Swiss international will not have endeared himself to his teammates after saying during an interview: "There is a lack of quality around me."
Xherdan Shaqiri may have some explianing to do after claiming during an interview picked up in the Swiss media that “even Ronaldinho” wouldn’t be able to do much at Stoke City given the winger’s view that there “is a lack of quality around me.”
"I should have realised that it's a bit different when you have players like Ribéry and Thiago at Bayern or Icardi and Kovacic at Inter. Here at Stoke I can’t exert that much influence, simply because there is a lack of quality around me.
“The feeling that even a player like Ronaldinho couldn’t do much in this team is depressing.”
Shaqiri: "It will take something special to revive my enthusiasm"
Shaqiri went on to promise that he would not down tools, presumably to the eternal gratitude of Stoke season-ticket holders, while also stating that it will take “something special in the transfer market this summer to revive my enthusiasm.”
Shaqiri joined Stoke from Inter Milan for 15 million euros in 2015 after spending his earlier career at Basel and Bayern Munich. In three seasons at Stoke he has scored 14 goals and provided 14 assists in 85 appearances.