- 2 weeks ago
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00:00I'm Kelly Summers and this season I'll be interviewing some of the biggest names in football,
00:04asking them the questions they don't normally get asked,
00:07as I try to find out more about the person behind the player or manager.
00:11The first half will be on football, the second on their life away from the game.
00:15This isn't just any interview, this is the football interview.
00:19Today I'm speaking to someone who's being hailed as one of the signings of last summer,
00:23it's Sunderland's Granit Xhaka.
00:30Well, Granit, thank you so much for speaking to us today.
00:35Let's start with football. What's your first ever memory of it?
00:40I think I started very early to kick the first ball.
00:45Even when I was born, my grandfather was playing already with me
00:50and probably the first kicks with four when I started where I grew up in Basel
00:58and just enjoying every little one.
01:02Can you remember the first team that you played for?
01:04Yeah, of course, it was FC Concordia Basel.
01:08It's a local team, so I was there until I was turning 12.
01:12Then I moved to FC Basel and did my first steps there.
01:16You obviously realised from quite a young age, did you,
01:18that you could potentially turn it into a career?
01:21Did you have a moment where you thought, actually, I'm quite good at this?
01:24Yeah, I mean, I started with four, I think, or when my parents,
01:27they took myself and my brother to the team.
01:30It was just to have fun, to be with other kids together
01:34and not going in the wrong direction.
01:37This was the first target for them because they were working
01:40and most of the time I was alone with my brother.
01:44So playing just together and enjoying our time with the football.
01:48And, yeah, I had a little bit of bigger injury when I was around 15 with my knee.
01:54Started to study as well after this with much more mature people
02:00who helped me in the way of my mentality and all these things.
02:04And, yeah, the Under-17 World Cup was a key for myself,
02:09for the family where I took the first steps after
02:13to the first team from FC Basel.
02:14You mentioned there the injury that you had at 15.
02:17Was it a really severe injury?
02:19Did you ever think that maybe you weren't going to be able to play?
02:21Yeah, I was out nearly nine months.
02:24And, yeah, when you are 15, you don't think too much about injuries.
02:28You don't think too much about can I get it, can I, or I can't.
02:32The worst time for myself was when I came back.
02:35So I was scared to kick the ball again.
02:38I was scared to go to the duels.
02:40Yeah, it was not an easy time, but I enjoyed it as well this time
02:44because this just makes you stronger than you maybe think about yourself.
02:49You've played in some incredible teams, played in some massive games,
02:53but when you look back across your whole career,
02:55is there one match that you wish you could replay?
02:57Wow, this is a very good question because I didn't think about this,
03:04but maybe the biggest emotional game for myself was my first game
03:11with Switzerland against England.
03:13I was 17 at Wembley, and I will never forget the day before the game.
03:19The coach came to me and said, you want to start tomorrow?
03:22And my answer was, I'm here to start. I'm ready to be 17.
03:26But when you come out and you see all these big players like Lampard,
03:31John Terry was there, Theo Walcott, Jack Wiltshire,
03:34who was an idol for us because he was just at next level.
03:39And you see them and you start to be nervous.
03:41You start to say, I'm ready for this game or not.
03:44But yeah, I think this one was emotional, maybe the biggest game.
03:49What's been the toughest point in your career?
03:50I have two tough moments in my career.
03:54The first one was when I moved the first time away from my family,
03:57with nearly 19 to Germany.
04:01Even the same language, a little bit Switzerland, Germany,
04:04but it was very, very difficult for myself.
04:07Everyone knows how close I am with my family,
04:09but even with my brother.
04:11And just to be away from them was hard.
04:16But yeah, after this, I didn't get the minutes,
04:19what I wanted as well.
04:20I wanted to leave in January already after six months.
04:23But I had my dad behind me who said,
04:25if you walk now, you will always walk away.
04:28So heads down and just work.
04:30And I did for this moment and everything changed.
04:35And the second part, I think, is not a big secret.
04:38It was 2019 when I had this, I call it a misunderstanding
04:42with the fans of Arsenal.
04:45But two moments where I think that I came stronger
04:50and better away from these moments
04:52because it's part of the process.
04:54It's part of writing as well the whole history,
04:59what I believe I can do.
05:01And one side, very bad.
05:02One side, I was lucky to have it.
05:04You mentioned the time at Arsenal then.
05:07Now you're back in the Premier League.
05:08Have you had an opportunity to kind of really reflect
05:10on your whole period at Arsenal
05:12because you had some incredible highs
05:13as well as some really difficult moments?
05:16No, in general, I think people just think
05:18about this moment, 2019.
05:20But I came to 2016 and I was in the football club
05:24for Arsenal seven years.
05:25So to be part of a football club seven years,
05:28to share the dressing room nearly 24-7,
05:30every day with the same people, different people,
05:34every summer, every winter, we had new people around us.
05:36It makes me proud because it's not easy
05:38to be on this level for seven years.
05:42And of course, when I leave Arsenal,
05:44it was a hard decision for myself, for my family
05:47because we were happy there.
05:48But I got another offer on the table
05:50where I was thinking more far than in the moment.
05:54But to be honest, I didn't expect to be back
05:55in the Premier League after two years again.
05:57Did you not?
05:58No, no, no, no.
05:58This was not the plan of myself, of our family.
06:01So you never wanted to come back?
06:03It's not I didn't want, but it was not planned.
06:06So when I moved from Arsenal,
06:07I'd signed a five-year contract in Leverkusen.
06:09So everything was planned around what happened
06:11after five years.
06:12Maybe taking a coaching first, all these steps.
06:17But yeah, I always say in football,
06:19you never know where you are tomorrow.
06:22Why did you come back then?
06:23I came back because, first of all,
06:26people were laughing with me, to be honest.
06:30Even the closest part of France said to me,
06:34why are you going back?
06:35Really?
06:35I said, why not?
06:36Yeah, OK, you can go back to Premier League,
06:38but why are you going back to Sunderland?
06:40See, because I love the challenge.
06:43And I had the feeling I need a new challenge.
06:44After two years in Germany,
06:46where we won the first year nearly everything,
06:48unbeaten in the Bundesliga,
06:50won the cup,
06:51lost the final in the Europa League,
06:53was very painful.
06:54But as well,
06:54I just had the feeling with the owner,
06:57when I spoke with them,
06:58with the club,
06:58with the coach,
07:00this is the right club for me.
07:01Because the people are very humble.
07:03It's a small city where I grew up.
07:06I see exactly myself,
07:07how I grew up.
07:08And I just wanted to be,
07:09to come back in the reality,
07:12where I believed
07:14is the right direction for myself,
07:18for my family.
07:19And I'm just happy that
07:21everything at the moment
07:22went how I was looking for.
07:25You must have expected it to go well,
07:27because otherwise you wouldn't have come here.
07:28But has it even exceeded your expectations?
07:32I mean,
07:33you hope that everything
07:34will be going in this way,
07:36what you think.
07:37Because I said to the club,
07:39the first thing I said,
07:40I'm not coming here
07:41to play in the Premier League for one year
07:43and to go down.
07:44Because I'm leaving a Champions League club,
07:46I'm leaving a Champions team
07:48like Leverkusen we was,
07:50with great club,
07:51great people around.
07:52And I'm coming here
07:54to push this project,
07:57what the club has.
07:57And with my experience,
07:59with my leadership,
08:01with the work I'm doing every day
08:02to show as well
08:03a new generation
08:04that even when you're tired sometimes
08:06you can go through.
08:07And I think that this period
08:09what we had now in the winter,
08:10with all these games
08:11and we missed seven players
08:13in AFCON as well,
08:15I think it was a great experience
08:16for the dressing room.
08:18I find it fascinating
08:18because you must have had other offers
08:20to come back to the Premier League,
08:21didn't you?
08:21It was a busy summer
08:23to be honest.
08:25I'm 33
08:26and my family was over Christmas here
08:29and I spoke with my brother
08:30and I say,
08:31why I had this offer now?
08:33I never had so many offers
08:35than this summer.
08:37It was a very, very busy summer
08:39for myself and for the family
08:41because every day
08:42someone else comes.
08:44But I decided for myself
08:47after 20 minutes
08:48on the call with the owner,
08:49I said to myself,
08:51I want to go to Sunderland.
08:52I was so sure
08:53but I have another part
08:55in my family as well.
08:56They need to accept,
08:57they need me to be happy
08:58and all these things
08:58but in the end
08:59I managed to be here
09:00and I'm just happy
09:01that I did this step.
09:09What was a young Granit Xhaka like?
09:12Oof.
09:12I was not so easy
09:13to handle with myself.
09:15Why doesn't that surprise me?
09:17If you ask my mum,
09:19I was always active,
09:20I had a lot of power
09:22but I was a guy who,
09:24I just asked our teammates
09:26two months ago,
09:28what did you expect
09:29before I came?
09:30And they expect like,
09:31you're coming here
09:32and you are the guy
09:33who is very serious
09:34and never joking,
09:35never laughing.
09:36I said,
09:36do I have this picture
09:37from outside?
09:38Because I'm not like this.
09:40What are you like?
09:41I like to be around people,
09:43I like to be very open
09:44with people,
09:45very straight for it,
09:47to joke,
09:48to laugh.
09:48I'm totally different
09:49at home,
09:50I'm not maybe different
09:51on the pitch
09:52and I know a lot of clubs
09:55or a lot of other players
09:57that don't like me
09:58on the pitch.
09:58I asked already
09:59some players as well
10:00where I play against.
10:01Do you like that players
10:02don't like you on the pitch?
10:03That's a compliment,
10:04isn't it?
10:04I don't know if it's a compliment
10:06because I asked him,
10:08for example,
10:08Lucha,
10:09we played against Leipzig
10:10with Leverkusen
10:11and I said to him,
10:12how was it?
10:13He said,
10:13everyone hates you.
10:15And I was like,
10:16wow,
10:16why?
10:17Because you are a guy,
10:17you provoke,
10:18you speak a lot
10:19and I said,
10:20yeah,
10:20because I just want to win.
10:22I'm not here
10:23to create friends,
10:24I'm here to win
10:25and if I want to win,
10:28I demand myself a lot
10:29and if I demand myself a lot,
10:30I demand from others.
10:32So sometimes
10:33people take it
10:35in a wrong way
10:36but I hope that
10:38I'm not bringing this
10:39outside that
10:41I just want to
10:43kiss someone.
10:45It's just to win in games
10:46and after the game,
10:48I think I'm the easiest guy
10:49who you can meet.
10:51It's good to know
10:51that you're exactly the same
10:53as a child
10:54as I think
10:54it sounds like you are now.
10:56Yes.
10:56Yes.
10:57You've mentioned family.
10:59Talk me through
10:59your family set up
11:00because you've got a brother,
11:02that's right,
11:02and you're very close
11:03with him.
11:03He's also a footballer
11:05and your parents too.
11:06Are you close with them?
11:07I'm very close.
11:08I'm very close
11:08with both parents
11:09and very close
11:10with my brother.
11:10I was lucky
11:11that our conversation
11:13with my brother
11:14was always about football
11:15because he was playing
11:16as well.
11:17So he retired last summer
11:18so he has much more time
11:20to watch our games.
11:22Does he come?
11:22He comes
11:23and he's watching
11:24on the TV as well
11:25in Switzerland
11:25we speak about mistakes,
11:27we speak about good things
11:30because sometimes
11:31we played in the same time
11:33as well.
11:34Of course,
11:35I can't miss my wife
11:37who is my supporter
11:39for 24-7.
11:40of course my parents
11:42are not here now
11:43at the moment
11:44in the UK
11:44or even in Germany
11:46but I think
11:47with my wife
11:48who takes a lot
11:49of stress for myself
11:50even with the kids
11:51and all the things
11:52I think she's
11:53a key part
11:54of my life
11:55for sure.
11:55Talk to me
11:56about the relationship
11:57with your brother
11:57and what it was like
11:58growing up
11:58and also
11:59what it must have been
11:59like for your parents
12:00because having two
12:02footballing boys
12:03is he the same
12:04personality type
12:05as you?
12:05No, he's totally different.
12:06Is he?
12:06He's different, yeah.
12:08He's older than me
12:09first of all.
12:10He was a little bit
12:11more chaos than me
12:12and I was always
12:14a lot of discipline.
12:17I was like
12:17we grew up in Switzerland,
12:19we were born in Switzerland
12:19but our background
12:21is from Kosovo
12:22so he was a little bit
12:24like a mix
12:26from Kosovo
12:27and Switzerland
12:28and I was like
12:29a Swiss mentality
12:31like discipline.
12:33I never missed
12:35any session
12:36I had when I came
12:37too late
12:37and he was a little bit
12:38like more lazy
12:39so but in the end
12:41we shared a lot
12:43of things
12:43positive, negative
12:44and he was
12:45always for me here.
12:47Talk to me
12:47about your dad
12:48as well
12:48because he sounds
12:49like he's been
12:49a huge influence
12:50and he must be
12:51incredibly proud
12:52because he hasn't
12:53had it easy
12:53but to now have
12:54two sons
12:55who have played
12:55professional football.
12:57Yeah, I will be
12:58always thankful
12:59for my parents
13:00because they grew up
13:02in Exegoslavia before
13:03and my dad
13:06had not the easiest
13:07period of his life
13:09when he was as well
13:11three and a half year
13:12sitting in the prison
13:14because of the
13:15politics stuff
13:15just meeting my mum
13:17and he went
13:18in the jail
13:19for three and a half
13:20years
13:20so she was there
13:21for three and a half
13:22years alone
13:22and when he came
13:25out of the situation
13:27there were two options
13:28to catch him again
13:29or to leave the country
13:30and without language
13:33without money
13:34without any people
13:35around in Switzerland
13:37to come in a new country
13:38many, many, many years ago
13:40who, yeah
13:42there was racism
13:43in a country as well
13:45there was not
13:46very open to them
13:47as well
13:48to take them
13:48to feed them
13:49but my parents
13:51did the most of it
13:52and they came
13:54with nothing
13:55bring both of the sons
13:57through the right
13:58direction
13:59without any big problems
14:01in the family
14:01without any big problems
14:03on the street
14:03and just giving us
14:05respect
14:05giving us
14:06discipline
14:07and just
14:09the hard work
14:09and the mentality
14:10to be humble
14:11and to respect everyone
14:12doesn't matter the age
14:13how would your best friends
14:15describe you?
14:16I think I'm a very humble guy
14:18I need to help people
14:19a lot
14:20for myself
14:22I always say to myself
14:23or to my missus
14:24or to my parents
14:25and to my brother
14:26I don't need anything
14:27I just need you guys
14:29to be happy
14:29I just want to see
14:31the smile in the face
14:32to give them what they need
14:33if they need something
14:34and about myself
14:36don't worry
14:36I deal with myself alone
14:38because even when I had
14:39the problems
14:40with the Arsenal fans
14:40I was dealing with myself
14:42I never ever put
14:44my family
14:45in this part of
14:46of darkness
14:48because I had
14:49dark nights
14:51I had dark days
14:52but I never spoke
14:53about this
14:54with nobody
14:54because
14:55this is myself
14:56this is my story
14:57and I decided
14:59to go in this
15:00professional part
15:01of football
15:02and I want everything
15:03to do it for myself
15:05to take them out as well
15:06How do you deal
15:07with the dark moments?
15:08How did you deal
15:08with that moment
15:09at Arsenal for example
15:10because it can be
15:11quite lonely
15:12and I imagine
15:12being a professional
15:13footballer
15:14with all the pressure
15:15on you
15:15with everything going on
15:16all the noise
15:17how do you deal
15:18with that when you're
15:19at the eye of the storm?
15:20I mean with words
15:21to describe
15:22it's very very difficult
15:23because you can't
15:25change from today
15:25to tomorrow
15:26and the worst time
15:28when I had
15:29was always when I was alone
15:30before the game
15:32in a hotel
15:33or when my missus
15:35or my family
15:35was not around
15:36every time
15:37these things
15:38came up
15:39and I just
15:41wanted to deal
15:42with it alone
15:43looking to myself
15:44and say
15:44why did this happen?
15:46Why is it me?
15:47What did I do wrong
15:49to the people?
15:50Because I was the captain
15:51of the football club
15:52in this time
15:52but there were
15:54too many noises
15:55and voices
15:56outside
15:58even from players
16:00that didn't expect
16:01to speak about me
16:02about this
16:04but I believe
16:06in life
16:07everything comes back
16:08and I'm just here
16:10sitting here
16:11and I'm very very happy
16:13and I just want
16:14to enjoy my time
16:15I always ask
16:16in these interviews
16:16what people are proudest of
16:18but also
16:19your resurgence
16:20at Arsenal
16:20and the way
16:21you came back
16:21from all of that
16:22must be one of the things
16:23that you're proudest of
16:24Absolutely true
16:25and you can believe me
16:27or not
16:27I didn't come back
16:29to show the people
16:30that I'm still the right man
16:31for the football club
16:32because in this moment
16:33I didn't care about this
16:34I just wanted to show myself
16:37that I can do it
16:38I didn't do it
16:39for nobody else
16:41just for myself
16:42and for the people
16:43I had always support for
16:45and I get a lot of message
16:47even for people
16:48who were speaking bad about me
16:49today
16:50we knew
16:52and you do this
16:52and you was great
16:53and
16:54but for me
16:55this is
16:55not interesting
16:57because
16:57football can change
16:59from today
16:59and tomorrow
17:00that's why
17:01I always say myself
17:02even when we have
17:03this hype
17:03with Sunderland
17:04just stay humble
17:05and don't forget
17:06where you come from
17:07because
17:08this can change
17:09very quick
17:10What do you do
17:15on your day off?
17:16How do you escape
17:16from all of this?
17:18I like to enjoy
17:19my time with my kids
17:20as much as possible
17:22because I'm not a lot
17:23at home
17:23we are travelling a lot
17:24and just enjoying
17:26with them
17:26every minute I can
17:28I am with them
17:29I try to pick them up
17:31to bring them to my school
17:32and all these things
17:33just to give them
17:33the love
17:34what I'm missing
17:34sometimes
17:35for myself
17:36yeah
17:37this is the time
17:38what I'm doing
17:38Do you have any hobbies
17:39or anything that you do?
17:40because I know
17:41you'll say
17:42you spend time
17:42with your kids
17:42but there must be
17:43things that you do
17:44as well for yourself
17:45yeah my hobby
17:47is just
17:48watching
17:49don't say football
17:50yeah
17:50to be honest
17:52I just spoke
17:53with my wife
17:54yesterday
17:54and she said
17:55when we can change
17:56the TV
17:56and not watching football
17:57because I'm watching
18:00non-league
18:01to the highest level
18:03because I'm a guy
18:04I want to learn
18:05and I can learn
18:06from the 5th division
18:08to the Champions League
18:09level
18:10and when my kid's sleeping
18:12I know
18:13it's the worst time
18:14for my wife
18:15because there's just
18:15football on the TV
18:16but yeah
18:18just spending time
18:18with the family
18:19first of all
18:20and after football
18:22going back to the Emirates
18:23how are you feeling?
18:24yeah it was a very emotional game
18:26already when we played
18:27at home
18:27but I think
18:29the Emirates
18:31they will be
18:32very very emotional
18:33because how I say
18:34this was
18:35or is still
18:36my second home now
18:38after Sunderland
18:39for sure
18:39because seven years
18:41to spend
18:41there
18:42even the people
18:43that are working there
18:44I have still contact
18:45with them
18:45and yeah
18:47I'm just looking forward
18:48for this game
18:49and hopefully
18:50that everything
18:51will go through
18:52how I wish
18:53I actually sat down
18:55with you back in 2023
18:56and you told me
18:58about how you nearly
18:58left Arsenal
18:59and one of the big reasons
19:00you didn't leave
19:00you said back then
19:01was Mikel Arteta
19:02are you looking forward
19:03to seeing him again
19:04what's your relationship
19:05like with him?
19:05absolutely
19:06of course
19:07after the first game
19:08here at Sunderland
19:09after the game
19:09we didn't have
19:10a lot of contact
19:11because of the situation
19:13and all these things
19:13and I know how Mikel is
19:15so it's better
19:16to leave him alone
19:17when he draw
19:19or he lose
19:20but for sure
19:22in Emirates
19:22hopefully it will be different
19:23because I have a lot
19:24of respect to this
19:25to this guy
19:27because he was
19:28the guy who kept me
19:29in the football club
19:29everyone knows it
19:31and I say this one
19:33one at a time
19:33and I will never
19:34forget what he did for me
19:36I guessed for
19:37one of your proudest moments
19:38when I was talking
19:38about Arsenal
19:39but what are you proudest of?
19:40I think I'm just proud
19:41which way I went through
19:43to grow up in Switzerland
19:44where it was not easy
19:46my parents
19:48without the language
19:49we grew up
19:50with a different language
19:51with a different mentality
19:52to have this mix
19:53about our background
19:54from Kosovo
19:55and to have this mix
19:56about many many things
19:58in Switzerland
19:59where I'm very thankful
20:01to get it
20:02about the discipline
20:03about the respect
20:04just makes me proud
20:05and that
20:06I can walk
20:07wherever I go
20:09with a head up
20:10tell me one thing
20:11about Granit Xhaka
20:12that might surprise me
20:13I don't know
20:15if
20:15I hate to be alone
20:18I don't like to be alone
20:20because maybe
20:20of my football career
20:22as well
20:22because of the moments
20:24where I had a little bit
20:25of dark nights
20:27as well maybe
20:28so I'm a guy
20:29if my family's not around
20:31I need people around
20:31for example
20:32if my wife
20:34or my kids
20:34are not at home
20:36I don't sleep
20:37in the bedroom
20:37really?
20:38no I can't sleep
20:39in the bedroom
20:40because I feel
20:41like I'm alone
20:41I feel like I'm
20:42where do you sleep?
20:43I sleep in the living room
20:44for example
20:45I feel very bad
20:47you know
20:48so maybe things
20:49like this
20:49but
20:49I guess you've been
20:50around people
20:51in football
20:51these years
20:52haven't you?
20:52no no I'm very happy
20:53I'm very happy
20:54that I'm around people
20:55because
20:56I think
20:57I would be not
20:58the same guy
20:58if I'm not around people
20:59what is one thing
21:01that people get wrong
21:01about you the most?
21:03they think
21:04I'm a little bit arrogant
21:05because I'm very
21:06straightforward
21:06and very
21:07honest
21:08if I need to say
21:10something
21:10I will tell you
21:11in the face
21:12good and bad things
21:13and
21:14maybe
21:16people take it
21:17like a little bit
21:18of arrogance
21:18a little bit of
21:19why he's
21:20straightforward
21:20but
21:21I grew up like this
21:23because
21:24I hate if something
21:25happened
21:25behind your back
21:28if you could only
21:29achieve one more
21:30thing in your career
21:30what would it be?
21:32everything what I
21:33achieved today
21:33it was a big dream
21:34and
21:35I achieved maybe
21:36much more
21:37than God
21:38wanted for me
21:39and I'm very
21:41very very thankful
21:42that first of all
21:43I'm healthy
21:43I had healthy
21:45people around me
21:46and in the future
21:47I'm not thinking
21:49about what happened
21:49in one year
21:51I just think
21:51what happened tomorrow
21:52so you don't look
21:53too far ahead anymore
21:54has that changed
21:55throughout your career?
21:55it has changed a lot
21:56yes
21:56because of what you've
21:58experienced
21:58I guess
21:59amazing
21:59well it's been a
22:00fascinating journey
22:01long may it continue
22:02best of luck
22:02thank you so much
22:03thank you
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