Xherdan Shaqiri has hit out at former teammate Charlie Adam for suggesting that he didn’t show up in important games.
After Shaqiri sealed a £13.5 million move to Liverpool in the summer, Adam hinted that the Swiss winger failed to show up for big matches for Stoke City last season.
Adam also claimed that “for all the plaudits the so-called bigger players were getting from certain members of the management staff last season, they weren’t producing.”
It was a veiled shot at the Anfield-bound Shaqiri, whose attitude was also called into question by Gary Neville in the summer.
This week, Shaqiri was given the opportunity to respond to Adam’s criticism and he didn’t hold back.
“I think it’s just frustration maybe or jealousy because I had a good move,” Shaqiri told the London Evening Standard.
“I was surprised that he spoke like this about me but that is sometimes the character of a player.
“I know what he said was totally wrong because at that time I played there – especially when times were hard – I was there and I was scoring a lot of goals.
“I was one of the only ones who helped the team with goals in difficult games and he was that guy who took the red card in [important] league games (against Everton) and missed a penalty (against Brighton).”
Shaqiri scored eight goals and set up seven others last term but his contribution wasn’t enough to keep the Potters up.
And while he has had to be patient since his release clause was met by Liverpool in July, Shaqiri insists that he feels no pressure to prove a point to his critics.
“I don’t have to prove Charlie Adam or some people that are speaking about me wrong,” Shaqiri added.
“I’m just a player who wants to work and who does my job every day, the same as I always did.
“I know that people know how good I am – most of the people that understand football know that they are wrong.”
