Shaqiri hits back at Effenberg: He has no job

Bayern Munich legend Stefan Effenberg has heavily criticised Xherdan Shaqiri for joining Stoke City.

He has left Inter for a club who have finished ninth in the Premier League for the last two seasons under Hughes.

But while there has been widespread disbelief that Stoke have pulled off such an impressive deal, Effenberg has said there are ulterior motives behind the move.

Shaqiri himself laughed off Effenberg’s comments. You have to ask yourself where you can reach your sporting goals as a footballer. Schalke would have been ideal for Shaqiri.

“Earning €1 million more or less should be irrelevant”.

‘This is a shame and a sad state of affairs. Only because they are throwing around cash? Is it really all about money for footballers these days?’

Shaqiri’s addition means Stoke now have the likes of Ibrahim Afellay, Marco van Ginkel, Bojan and Joselu in their squad.

“I can’t understand why he [Effenberg] would be so dismissive”. We have been talking a lot together, and with my brother, with my family.

“I really want to show him and the rest of staff, players and supporters great football on the pitch and hopefully help move the club forward”. I think we have a very good team and that’s the reason why I wanted to come here. “It’s not about money, it’s about ambition”.

Shaqiri could make his debut against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

Shaqiri told the club’s official website, www.stokecityfc.com: “It is very important for me to have the coach behind me showing great belief in me, and Mark Hughes has done that”.

“It’s true that my time at Inter was very short, and I’m happy about that”, Shaqiri said during his unveiling at his new club.

“He’s a top player and we now have a host of top-quality players in our squad to change games and create something out of nothing”.

“He [Effenberg] has no job at the moment, so he can talk – he’s a free man”, Shaqiri said.

“We are trying to progress and you can only do that by getting the right quality of players in to enhance what we already have”.