Liverpool's $21M Star To Part Ways With Reds; Would Be 'Honored' To Play For Lazio

Liverpool FC midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri admitted Monday that he is set to leave the Premier League side this summer and would be "honored" to join an Italian club such as Lazio.

Shaqiri is coming off a superb show for Switzerland in the Euros 2020, scoring three goals and one assist in five matches.

Serie A clubs such as Napoli and Lazio are interested in signing Shaqiri, who has been labeled with an asking price of $21 million, according to the soccer website Goal.com.

Shaqiri heaped praise on Lazio's sporting director Igli Tare, saying he has been doing a great job with the club before adding he prefers more attacking soccer and Lazio's head coach Maurizio Sarri practices it.

"Igli Tare has been doing an excellent job at Lazio for years. If it’s true that he has great respect for me, then I’m honored. I have been following Lazio for a long time, they are a top team. In general, due to my characteristics, I like to play more attacking football and Sarri practices it. It would be intriguing," Shaqiri told Italian publication Corriere dello Sport in an interview on being asked about his links with the Serie A club.

Ahead of the 2021-22 season, Shaqiri has informed Liverpool that he is ready to face a new challenge and the Reds have agreed to consider offers for the Swiss midfielder, according to the newspaper Corriere dello Sport.

"Fortunately, football has helped me achieve many of my dreams. I was lucky enough to play with great teams and to win many titles. Who knows, maybe I could get something even with the Swiss national team. My contract [with] Liverpool expires in 2022, in 2018 I signed a four-year deal,” Shaqiri added further in the interview.

Last season, Shaqiri made only 22 appearances for Liverpool across competitions. Of the 22 matches, 14 were in the Premier League, where he earned just five starts. During the Premier League-winning season 2019-20, Shaqiri was hardly involved, playing only seven league games. The 29-year-old made only 11 competitive appearances for Liverpool that season, scoring one goal.

“The important thing at this moment in my career is to be able to play regularly, but that hasn’t always been the case in the last three seasons. This is why I told Liverpool that I feel ready for a new challenge. They accepted my wish and will seriously consider the offers that will come. They will not stop me," Shaqiri told Corriere dello Sport.

Shaqiri joined Liverpool from Stoke City at a fee of approximately $18 million in 2018 and has made 63 appearances for the Reds. He was part of the squad which won the Champions League, Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and then followed that up with the Premier League title a year later. However, his journey over the last couple of years at Anfield has been hampered with various injuries.