Shaqiri Claims Liverpool Made Official Approach for Him Before World Cup

Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri has stated that Bayern Munich rejected a bid for him from Liverpool, just prior to the 2014 World Cup.

Having made very few first team appearances for Bayern last season, the 22-year-old was expected to make a move away from the Allianz Arena, with Liverpool and Juventus believed to be leading the race for his signature.

However, the former Basel man has now revealed that the Bavarians refused to listen to offers when Liverpool made an approach for him.

"Liverpool made a bid for me before the World Cup but Bayern put their foot down and told me, 'We're not going to sell you,'" Shaqiri told ESPN.

In the end, Bayern's decision to keep him at the Allianz Arena proved to be a good one as the winger impressed at the 2014 World Cup, putting in a series of good performances for Switzerland including a hat-trick against Honduras.

And now, Shaqiri, who will be hoping to get more play time at Bayern this season, says that he may extend his stay in Munich.

"My contract runs until 2016 and I could possibly extend it. I will consider my decision during the winter break."

Meanwhile, Shaqiri says he is now concentrating on Switzerland's 2016 European Championship qualifier against England at St Jakob Stadium in Basel on Monday.

The Three Lions, who disappointed at the 2014 World Cup where they failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, have made a lot of changes to their side, after the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard announced their retirement from international football.

And Shaqiri feels England will be looking to make a comeback against Switzerland on Monday.

"I expect England to come over with a lot of young players who aren't yet so well known. They will want to repair the damage after not doing well at the World Cup finals."

However, the 22-year-old, who revealed that Switzerland will not make any major changes against England, insists that his side will look to get a positive result.

"They will come over to Switzerland looking to win. But we will play our normal game and we'll be going for victory too. We are familiar with our formation as a team and we know what we have to do. The coach Vladimir Petkovic has told us he doesn't need to make big changes for the England game."