Man Utd legend slams Xherdan Shaqiri for behaving like a child

Peter Schmeichel has called out Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri for childish behaviour after a row broke out over the Switzerland captaincy.

The Liverpool star missed out of Switzerland’s Euro 2020 qualification double header last month against Gibraltar and the Republic of Ireland after it was claimed he’d fallen out with aSwiss coach Vladimir Petkovic’s decision to give the armband to Granit Xhaka.

And the Arsenal man was asked for his thoughts on the issue after his country’s 1-1 draw with Ireland in Dublin, to which Xhaka replied: “If the captain’s band really is the problem, then we can sit together at one table. “We are grown up enough to talk about it.

“If he really has a problem about that [the captaincy], then he may like the captain’s armband. That’s no problem for me. It does not matter to me if I have it.

“I want to give everything to the team, whether that’s with the band or without.”

And with the issue continuing to dominate much debate in Switzerland ahead of the latest round of international fixtures, Swiss paper Blick asked United legend Schmeichel for his thoughts on the matter.

“I liked the words of Granit Xhaka in the context of Shaqiri’s absence,” he said.

“I read that the captain question played a role in Shaqiri’s thinking.

“Although this has been denied in the meantime, nevertheless I found it strong that Xhaka said: ‘If Shaqiri wants to have the captain’s armband, he should take it.’

“Xhaka showed that he wants to be a leader even without ties – and gave the pressure to Shaqiri. That was brilliant of him. In contrast to Shaqiri, who behaved like a child.”

READ MORE: Dissatisfied Shaqiri in boastful mood at Liverpool

Schmeichel questions Shaqiri’s decision to play for Stoke

Despite criticising Shaqiri over the issue, Schmeichel admits he is a big fan of the player, though did question his decision to ever sign for Stoke.

“He is a very good player, can dribble, shoot, has fast feet,” Schmeichel commented.

“You can never say exactly what he does next, which makes it very difficult for the opponent. But he made a strange transfer to Stoke.

“He was brilliant at Basel, went to Bayern – great. But then Stoke. Now he is with Jurgen Klopp [at Liverpool ], he likes such players. But he is not one of the 11 important ones.”

Get the latest personalised Reds products on our new TEAMtalk Liverpool shop!