The Football Interview Series Introduction
The Football Interview is a new series featuring prominent figures from sport and entertainment joining host Kelly Somers for candid and detailed discussions about football, the nation's favourite sport.
The series delves into mindset, motivation, defining career moments, personal reflections, and achievements, revealing the person behind the player.
Episodes are released on Saturdays via BBC , , and the website. This week's interview airs on BBC One at 23:55 GMT on Saturday, 7 February (and at 00:55 Sunday in Scotland).
Granit Xhaka's Role at Sunderland and Return to the Premier League
Granit Xhaka has been a key player for Sunderland as the club has surpassed expectations in their Premier League return after an eight-year absence.
The Swiss midfielder returned to England's top division after seven years at Arsenal from 2016 to 2023.
During his time at Arsenal, Xhaka, 33, contributed to two FA Cup victories and a Europa League final appearance, though his tenure included difficult periods such as a significant dispute with supporters and losing the club captaincy.
After departing Arsenal, Xhaka quickly made an impact at Bayer Leverkusen, aiding them in securing a domestic double in Germany.
Despite this success, the opportunity to return to the Premier League was compelling for Xhaka, who began his career at Basel and also played for Borussia Mönchengladbach.
In an extensive interview with Kelly Somers, Xhaka discussed various topics including his decision to sign with Sunderland and his past conflict with Arsenal fans.
Xhaka will miss Sunderland's upcoming match at the Emirates due to injury, preventing what he described as a "very emotional" return to his "second home after Sunderland."
He expressed considerable respect for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, stating:
"He was the guy who kept me in the football club. Everyone knows it and I will never forget what he did for me."
Career Challenges and Growth
Kelly Somers asked Xhaka about the toughest moments in his career, to which he replied:
"I have two tough moments. The first one was when I moved for the first time away from my family at nearly 19 to Germany. It was very difficult for me. Everyone knows how close I am to my family and to be away from them was hard. I didn't get the minutes I wanted [on the pitch] and I wanted to leave in January after six months, but I had my dad behind me. He said: 'If you walk now, you will always walk away, so head down and just work.' I did, and everything changed.
The second part is not a big secret. It was 2019 when I had this... I call it a misunderstanding... with the fans of Arsenal. Two moments where I think that I became stronger and better because it's part of a process. It's part of writing the whole history. On one side, very bad. On one side, I was lucky to have it."
Reflection on Arsenal Tenure
When asked about reflecting on his Arsenal period, Xhaka said:
"In general, I think people just think about this moment in 2019. But I came in 2016, so to be part of a football club for seven years makes me proud... it's not easy to be on this level for seven years. And, of course, when I left Arsenal it was a hard decision for myself and for my family because we were happy there. But I got another offer on the table where I was thinking more far [ahead] than in the moment. To be honest, I didn't expect to be back in the Premier League after two years again. This was not the plan for myself, or for our family."
Decision to Return to the Premier League
Regarding his return, Xhaka explained:
"It's not that I didn't want to, but it wasn't planned. When I moved from Arsenal, I signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen. So everything was planned around what happens after five years. But I always say in football, you never know where you are tomorrow."
On why he chose Sunderland, he stated:
"Even the people closest to me were saying: 'Why are you going back to the Premier League to join Sunderland?' I came back because I love the challenge and I had the feeling I need a new challenge. After two years in Germany, where in the first year we won nearly everything... unbeaten in the Bundesliga, won the cup, lost the final of Europa League, which was very painful. I just had the feeling with the owner when I spoke with them - with the club, with the coach - this is the right club for me, because the people are very humble. It's a small city like where I grew up. I just wanted to come back in a reality which I believe is the right direction for myself, for my family. I'm just happy that everything at the moment is going how I wanted it to."
Expectations and Ambitions at Sunderland
On whether Sunderland has exceeded his expectations, Xhaka said:
"The first thing I said to the club was: 'I'm not coming here to play in the Premier League for one year and to go down, because I'm leaving a Champions League club. I'm coming here to push this project.'"
Regarding other offers, he revealed:
"It was a busy summer to be honest! I'm 33, I spoke with my brother and I said: 'I never have had so many offers!' The summer was very busy because every day someone else came. But I decided for myself - after 20 minutes on the call with the owner - I wanted to go to Sunderland. I was so sure."
Personality and Playing Style
Kelly Somers asked about young Granit Xhaka's personality, to which he responded:
"I was not so easy to handle..."
When prompted why, he added:
"If you ask my mum, I was always active. I had a lot of power, but I was a guy who... I just asked our team-mates two months ago: 'What did you expect before I came?' They expect: 'You're coming here and you are the guy who is very serious and never joking, never laughing.' I said: 'Do I have this picture from outside? Because I'm not like this!'"
"I like to be around people. I like to be very open with people. Very straightforward... to joke, to laugh. I'm totally different at home. I'm maybe different on the pitch. And I know a lot of clubs - or a lot of other players - that don't like me on the pitch."
On whether he appreciates being disliked by opponents on the pitch, he said:
"I don't know if it's a compliment. Lutsha [Lutsharel Geertruida]... we played against Leipzig with Leverkusen. I say to him: 'How was it?' He says: Everyone hates you.' And I was like: 'Wow. why?' 'Because you are a guy... you provoke. You speak a lot.' And I say: 'Yeah, because I just want to win.' I'm not here to create friends. I'm here to win. And if I want to win, I demand of myself a lot. And if I demand of myself a lot, I demand from others. So sometimes people take it in a wrong way. It's just [about] winning games and after the game, I think I'm the easiest guy who you can meet."
Family Influence and Background
Xhaka spoke about his father's influence and family background:
"I will be always thankful for my parents because they grew up in ex-Yugoslavia. My dad had not the easiest period of his life when he was three years sitting in a prison because of politics. Just after meeting my mum, he went in jail for three and half years. When he came out of the situation, there were two options - to catch him again, or to leave the country. My parents [made] the most of it and they came [to Switzerland] with nothing, brought both of their sons through the right direction without any big problems and just giving us a respect, giving us the discipline and just the hard work and the mentality to be humble and to respect everyone."
Personality Outside Football
When asked how his best friends would describe him, Xhaka said:
"I'm a very humble guy. I need to help people a lot. I always say to my missus or to my parents and brother: 'I don't need anything. I just need you guys to be happy.' I just want to see the smile on their face. I deal with myself alone because even when I had the problems with the Arsenal fans, I never ever put my family in this part of darkness, because I had dark nights. I had dark days. But I never spoke about this with anybody because this is myself, this is my story and I decided to go in this professional part of football."
Dealing with Difficult Periods
On managing challenging moments, particularly at Arsenal, Xhaka reflected:
"Very difficult. The worst time I had was always when I was alone, before the game in the hotel or when my missus or my family were not around. Every time these things came up and I just wanted to deal with it alone - looking to myself and say: 'Why has this happened? Why is it me? What did I do wrong to the people?' I was the captain of the football club in this time. But there were too many noises and voices outside - even from players I didn't expect to speak about this. But I believe in life... everything comes back and I'm sitting here very happy and I just want to enjoy my time."
Resurgence and Pride
Regarding his comeback and what he is proudest of, Xhaka stated:
"Absolutely. You can believe me or not... I didn't come back to show people that I'm still the right man for the football club, because in this moment, I didn't care about this. I just wanted to show myself that I can do it. I get a lot of messages, even for people who were speaking bad about me. For me, this is not interesting because football can change from today and tomorrow. That's why I always say to myself, even we have this hype with Sunderland, just stay humble and don't forget where you came from because this can change very quick."
Personal Insights
When asked to share something surprising about himself, Xhaka revealed:
"I hate to be alone - maybe because of my football career and the moments where I had dark nights. So if my family are not around, if my wife or my kids are not at home, I don't sleep in the bedroom. I can't sleep in the bedroom because I feel like I'm alone."
"I sleep in the living room."
On misconceptions about him, he said:
"They think I'm a little bit arrogant because I'm very straightforward and very honest. If I need to say something, I will tell you in the face good and bad things. Maybe people take as arrogance. But I grew up like this because I hate if something happened behind your back."
Future Aspirations
Asked about one more achievement he would like in his career, Xhaka answered:
"Everything I achieve today, it was a big dream and I achieved maybe much more than God wanted for me. And I'm very, very, thankful that first of all, I'm healthy, had healthy people around me, and in the future, I'm not thinking about what happened in one year. I just think what happens tomorrow."
On whether he looks less far ahead now, he responded:
"This has changed a lot, yes."
When asked if this change was due to his experiences, the interview concluded with this reflection.
