“They were Man United players, maybe they don’t like Liverpool!” – Xherdan Shaqiri brilliantly reacts to his critics

Xherdan Shaqiri has laughed off criticism from some notorious detractors and says he is relishing the competition for places at Liverpool.

Shaqiri completed a £13.75million to Anfield earlier this month, joining from Stoke City after an impressive campaign for the Potters, despite their relegation to the Championship.

The Switzerland international has taken plenty of flack from brothers Gary and Phil Neville in recent times, both of whom criticised his time at Stoke.

It seemed a little bizarre considering his unrivalled influence on the team, but Shaqiri has brilliantly got to the bottom of it, shaking off the negativity in a way that will endear him to Reds supporters.

“They were Man United players. Maybe they don’t like Liverpool!” Shaqiri replied when speaking to the newspaper journalists in New Jersey on Wednesday.

“I don’t know, it could be that. Some people like you, some people don’t like you. I don’t want to comment on what is said by people I don’t know.

“I think my stats speak for themselves. I was the top scorer in the team with goals and assists last season so I don’t have to say any more.

“My conscience is clear. I think everybody knows that [I was the best player].”

Shaqiri has been signed to add quality and depth in the final third for Liverpool—something that was lacking last season.

The 26-year-old says he doesn’t worry about struggling for playing time and will instead embrace the battle for minutes alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

“Football is like this,” he added.

“You have competition all over the world, not only in football, in normal life too. Everyone fights for his place but, in the end, we have many games to play and everybody is going to play games.

“We want to be successful as a team and that is the most important thing to win titles here. Not just one player can win titles. I’m here to be successful with my team.

“Every player wants to play on the biggest stages in football. I have played for big teams. I know what it takes. I won many titles with Bayern Munich so I know how it is to be on the big stage.

“I am really happy to have this opportunity. You can see with the transfers that we want to go forward. We want to achieve something and win titles.”

Shaqiri has now joined up with his teammates in America and could feature for the first time against Man United on Saturday night.

His move to Liverpool wasn’t greeted with universal positivity, despite the low price tag, but the same applied when Salah and Mane joined.

If he can have a similar kind of impact, the Reds are onto a winner.