CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 17, 2024

Xherdan Shaqiri

Press Conference

Q. Wondering, Frank mentioned before, no secret, certainly, the club looking to sign an impactful No. 9, and any hopes that the club is close to that, but maybe that's the answer to this question I'm going to ask you. But what do you think the team needs to take that next step, and what are you hoping to see there? Just because obviously, too, there's been stretches where the last couple years, you guys have looked really good, and maybe haven't been able to put that consistency together. Is that maybe the answer, there just to have that player?

XHERDAN SHAQIRI: I think we were talking before about this, not only last year, but two years ago; that we need a strong No. 9, but it didn't came to be honest.

Yeah, I'm always welcome for new players. I think the whole club is welcome for new players, good quality players to help the team to reach the goals, what we want to do as a club, and where we want to go as a club, and I think it is important to improve the team every year. And yeah, hopefully it happens. I'm not the right guy to be honest to ask because you have to ask the sporting directors and the coaching staff for this.

But I'm always welcome for new players, and so yeah, let's hope we can get a couple new guys in to strengthen the team and to reach our goals and where the clubs normally belong.

Q. Curious how you're feeling about what you are seeing in growth some from some of these young guys. I know we always ask you about Brian, and seeing now you get some Omaris coming into the squad for camp, and of course Chris Brady making another step as a starter. What are you seeing from some of your younger teammates as you try to remind mentality what it takes to be a top-level pro?

XHERDAN SHAQIRI: It's always good that the club works with young players and the club showed that in the past that they brought always very good players out.

Yeah, hopefully it's going well like this. I'm really looking forward again, and to see these young players growing. Yeah, making the next steps. This is also important for this kind of young players who are very talented but they have to grow, they have to suffer, they have to make the next steps.

Yeah, we have to put a bit more pressure. This is normal, and only the good players under pressure grows. So I hope these guys can step up and help the team more and more to reach our goals and for themselves obviously to show themselves and maybe one day they can make another step to up over to another top team are.

Q. My question for you is because this is the last year of your current DP contract that runs through 2024, what are your reflections on your first two years in Chicago for you personally, and how do you measure success in this upcoming season?

XHERDAN SHAQIRI: I'm really happy to be in Chicago. From the first day, it was a nice welcome from the club, from the whole Chicago family, from the owner, and yeah, my goals were always to be successful. I knew it from the past in the previous clubs I worked, it was different for me from Europe to change the location.

Yeah, I needed a bit of time, but yeah, I loved every day. I love to work, and yeah, of course, I had the goals. I came here to win trophies. We haven't done that so far. This is clear. But yeah, I'm looking forward for this season, my last year of my contract, and yeah, hopefully we can be as successful -- have a lot of success together, and then we see where we can go.

But of course, everywhere I go, I want to go for trophies, and the club knows how to win trophies but in the past they haven't done much in this case to go that far that you can say, okay, they have a chance to win trophies, and this needs to be the club's goal in the near future with the new training facilities that maybe they can bring a lot of other good players and good-quality players to reach these kind of goals. Because I think this club and this city deserves trophies, and is a hard-working city and it deserves some trophies.

So I hope in the near future, with me or trophies me in the future, I don't know yet, because this is my last year that we can be successful together and maybe win something at least this year and try to give everything on the field. That is the most important thing.

But for that, you need a lot of stuff around the team if you want to win something, because you see MLS in a good day, you can win, and in a bad day, you can lose every game. So yeah, you need to be focused and really consistently good performances if you want to be really on the top. So yeah, let's see. Let's work hard now together and let's see how far we can go.

Q. Quick question on your old club, Liverpool. They are obviously having a really good season back in England. I wanted to see what you make of them this season, if you think they have a good chance of possibly lifting the Premier League title again?

XHERDAN SHAQIRI: I hope so. I hope so. I'm following them always, and I just came back from England where I have still my house. Actually, I wanted to go watch a game but I couldn't because I was with my whole family at home. We watch it at the TV.

But yeah, I was very close, and yeah, I'm really looking forward to this season, and hopefully they can lift a trophy. It will be very grateful for the city and for the fans, and yeah, let's see. The Premier League is a difficult league, and you never know what happens. I hope they can keep going like this till the end, but it's difficult. I hope for them and looking forward to if they win to celebrate with them.

Q. Recently there was a winner of the best player award 2024 with Messi, and I know the captains of the national teams and coaches have voted for him, and there were three players that were the most voted, Messi, Haaland and Mbappe. I wanted to know your personal opinion, because this player right now is in this league in MLS. If Messi was correct (to receive) the award, and if you have a chance to vote, who would you have voted for?

XHERDAN SHAQIRI: I am not that guy who is doing this kind of stuff, you know, working in these votings. I don't know what's going behind the scene there.

Yeah, in the end of the day, the players vote, and yeah, if they vote Messi as the best player, yeah, then it's Messi. This is a player's vote, and yeah, it's not that he don't deserve it because he won the World Cup. He played a very good season, too.

Yeah, for me, he's the best player in the world in history with Cristiano together and with many more players. For me, he deserve it. It's not that he didn't deserve.