Winger Liverpool sold for £10m has more goals and assists than Diaz and Jota combined

have seen one of their former players reach new heights elsewhere, as Xherdan Shaqiri celebrated becoming a Swiss Super League champion again. The ex-Reds winger scored a nine-minute hat-trick for his boyhood club Basel in the 5-2 win over Lugano, sealing a first title since 2017 and a return to the pinnacle of football in Switzerland.

Shaqiri spearheaded Basel's title charge and only two players across Europe had more league goal contributions than the 33-year-old this season, Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres and Shaqiri's former Anfield team-mate . In a period when Salah has , Shaqiri (20 goals and 21 assists) beat the combined tallies from Diogo Jota (nine goals, four assists) and Luis Diaz (17 goals, eight assists).

Shaqiri left Merseyside in 2021 with , , UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup titles to his name. He was an important rotational option under Jurgen Klopp and came up with the goods on several occasions off the bench.

His post-Liverpool career had not gone to plan until he returned to Switzerland, however, with disappointing spells at Lyon and Chicago Fire taking place before heading to Basel on a free transfer.

His success in 2025 is the eighth league title of Shaqiri's career, having previously won the Swiss Super League three times with Basel, the on three occasions at and a sole league crown with Liverpool. He has 18 major trophies in total.

Having not won the title since 2017, a return to glory for Basel was largely attributed to the arrival of Shaqiri.

"The euphoria he's sparked, and how he's withstanding the pressure and even exceeding expectations, deserves the utmost respect," former Basel team-mate Marco Streller told .

"Shaq is one of those figures from the region with whom people can immediately identify. Without wanting to diminish the merits of the others, what's happening right now obviously has a lot to do with Xherdan."

Rival head coach Thomas Haberli of Servette bemoaned that Shaqiri "decided practically every game" on route to the title.

There is little to suggest that Shaqiri would be able to dominate matches in England in the same manner, but he was a reliable and productive squad player who was allowed to leave for just £10million four years ago.

His success elsewhere may serve as a lesson to chief executive Michael Edwards and co. There are a few players reportedly on the chopping block this summer, with the .

Perhaps Shaqiri has proven that although sales can be made to bolster s transfer budget, the shiny new toy may not be an improvement.