Xherdan Shaqiri to Leave Bayern Munich Amid Liverpool and United Interest

Xherdan Shaqiri will consider leaving Bayern Munich for a Premier League club this summer amid reported interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.

The versatile midfielder has previously voiced his discontent with the peripheral role he has played at the Allianz Arena, having started just 10 league games during the 2013/14 campaign under Pep Guardiola.

Recent reports have suggested Brendan Rodgers is hoping to bring Shaqiri and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Emre Can to Anfield from the Bundesliga, while United have also been credited with interest the Bayern attacker given their lack of quality in wide positions.

However, it would appear Liverpool would have the edge over their arch rivals in pursuit of Shaqiri, with the 22-year-old eager to leave Bayern for a club competing in the Champions League.

"It is clear that I cannot continue like this. If nothing changes, I will have to make some changes myself," Shaqiri told 20 Minuten.

"I want to play in the important games as well and not just in the Bundesliga. I don't want to go through another year like this.

"I only want to play for a major club. The Champions League is important to me. We will see what happens.

"England would be an option. If I were to leave Bayern, it will be for a foreign club. But it will have to be a club challenging for the title."

Shaqiri has largely struggled to hold down a first team role following his move from Swiss champions Basel in 2012 despite his ability to operate in a number of positions. The Switzerland international is equally adept on both flanks as well as through the middle, qualities Rodgers recently eulogised when discussing the calibre of player he is looking to bring to the club this summer.

"You'll get some players who are specialists and who need to play in particular positions, but if we can get players in who are multi-functional, and can play in different roles and are multi-dimensional in their work, it sets us up and gives me more options as a coach," Rodgers told Liverpool's official website.

"Our criteria that we look for is players with strong technique and football intelligence. They need to mentally have the attitude and the capacity to learn. And they have to be so hungry to fight for every ball on every day in training and in the game."