Xherdan Shaqiri has played with some top players during his time as a professional footballer and has now picked out his ‘world XI’. Unsurprisingly, it features several of his former teammates and also a few of his current ones but remarkably, he leaves star man Mo Salah out of the side.
Going through the full XI, in goal, he picks his former Bayern teammate Manuel Neuer, who he will be coming up against tonight in the last 16 of the Champions League. He edges out Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, who many would agree is the best keeper in the world, although the Liverpool man may have got some stick if he had included a player from their fierce rivals.
In defence, Dani Carvajal gets the nod at right-back alongside Sergio Ramos who can be considered a surprise inclusion after his treatment of Mo Salah in last year’s Champions League final. Two Liverpool players do feature, with Virgil Van DIjk and Andy Robertson making it into the line up.
In midfield, Bayern player Thiago makes the cut from when Shaqiri played at Bayern and he is partnered alongside Madrid duo Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Up top, there is little room for Liverpool players as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski are selected as the front three.
That means the Swiss winger has picked out three of his former teammates at Bayern Munich which could be a sign of the challenge that Liverpool face tonight. He told the official website:
"I was very happy because I wanted to play against Bayern Munich, against my old teammates and my old team. I'm looking forward to the game.
"It was an amazing time [at Bayern]. Two-and-a-half years I was there and it was amazing; we won a lot of titles, we won the Champions League. We had the best team Bayern Munich had.
"It was an amazing feeling to win so many trophies. I had many great memories there, I will never forget them. I'm really looking forward to going there and trying to win the game in Munich with my team."
