“Yes! Yes! Number one!”
These were Xherdan Shaqiri’s first words at Melwood after being crowned Premier League champion with Liverpool. The club’s photographers couldn’t help but capture the joy in front of the Swiss international.
However, this term has not been easy for the Swiss international.
Injuries have not helped his case under Jurgen Klopp, but he has accumulated less than 200 minutes of Premier League football.
As the gossip columns continue to link your name to a departure when the transfer window reopens, the title could be your parting gift.
Not that his reaction at Melwood was that of a man desperately unhappy with his situation. This was not his first championship, far from it, and he has been in this situation before.
Shaqiri, 28, added the Premier League to a trophy cabinet that already contained two Bundesliga medals and two Champions League crowns, as well as two UEFA Super Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup each .
Not that this has impressed everyone.
Andreas Boeni, head of football at the Swiss newspaper Blick, noted that Shaqiri played minor roles in most of these achievements.
The Liverpool striker took it easy.
His response was posted on social media the day after he became champion of England. A simple image of him celebrating with his 17 career trophies accompanied by a short letter.
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“Dear Blick and Andreas Boeni,” he said. “While you’re bored in the office, here is a photo for the next front page.”
He signed with a kiss.
Shaqiri would be forgiven for feeling frustrated. Winning the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2013, his first campaign with the German giants, he missed just eight league games, scored four goals and assisted in six more.
In the Champions League, he played in all but one group game before receiving a paltry two minutes of action in the knockout rounds when Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund, managed by Klopp, in the final.
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The next season was similar. The winger featured in almost every league game he was available for despite missing half the season due to injury and played in both games at the Club World Cup and in the Super Cup victory over Chelsea.
But again, Shaqiri was a supporting actor in Europe.
Sounds familiar? Should.
In the knockout stages of the Champions League for Liverpool last season, he played just 90 minutes.
We all know how that ended.
They were potentially 90 of the most famous minutes in the history of the club and Shaqiri, starting against Barcelona in the second leg of the semifinal due to injuries suffered by both Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, assisted Gini Wijnaldum for the third goal that He matched the tie at night.
No one in Liverpool would dare say that Shaqiri had played a minor role in his eventual triumph, even if, on paper, he had.
Klopp has repeated it numerous times during his time in charge and, in fact, reiterated the point this week. Every team needs a Shaqiri and Liverpool is no different.
“If you are a football fan, you want a backup for him and for him, even if you are completely happy with everyone, you want backups,” he explained.
“We have a lot … we don’t have a first XI, I say we have a first 16 or 17, everyone can play at the same level.”
Shaqiri has proven time and time again that he is capable, in his day, of playing at the level required by Klopp. It is simply unfortunate to be behind three of the best strikers in the world and unable to create a rhythm for himself.
But what about Barcelona? That double against Manchester United? His performance against Everton in December?
They give Shaqiri every right to enjoy the success he has achieved in Merseyside. However, although Boeni and Blick have missed the point, their end in Liverpool is likely to be sad.
It is sad because he will probably still be leaving and he has never disappointed Liverpool when they need him most.
You would suspect that Klopp might want to retain him, especially in an uncertain financial landscape, but in the prime of his career Shaqiri will know what he’s worth.
He will know that he can go and be a star man somewhere else.
For now, his reaction to winning the title suggests he’s happy with Merseyside, but if he leaves he won’t need to write a letter to Liverpool.
There may only be six Premier League appearances this period, but everyone connected to the club knows it’s more than that.
After all, without Barcelona and the Champions League victory that followed, would Liverpool have had the confidence to rise up and challenge again nationally this season?
That Premier League title could be the perfect kiss to sign.
.
