We imagine Xherdan Shaqiri will be avoiding eye contact with some of his teammates between now and the end of the season.
Shaqiri has scored more goals this term than any other Stoke City player but his popularity in the dressing room looks set to plummet after his comments during the international break.
With Stoke in the midst of a relegation battle, Shaqiri might have been better off leaving these remarks until the end of the season as they definitely won’t have a galvanising effect on the squad.
When discussing the shortcomings of the Potters this season, the Switzerland international has pointed to the lack of quality in the Stoke ranks and claimed that he can’t keep one side afloat on his own.
“The feeling that even a Ronaldinho could do little in this team is sobering,” Shaqiri told Swiss media, as translated by Stoke Sentinel.
“I had to realise 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 not exert too much influence, simply because there is a lack of quality around me.”
While Shaqiri is contracted up to 2020, several clubs have been linked with the 26-year-old and his opinion on Stoke could translate to a come-and-get-me plea.
The former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan winger has claimed that it will take some significant investment from the Potters board to convince him to stay at the bet365 Stadium beyond the summer.
He added: “I can not just down tools but it would take something extreme from Stoke in the transfer market this summer to revive my enthusiasm.”
