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Report nowArrested, tortured, humiliated. The new book "Mensch Fussballstar" by blue Sport editor-in-chief Andreas Böni tells Granit Xhaka's family story, among others.
It's a dark night in London and Granit Xhaka has pulled his cap low over his face. He is wearing comfortable fashion and nothing hints at the difficult days he has had. He laughs, he jokes, he is in a good mood - as is his father Ragip, who is accompanying him. Ragip and Eli Xhaka are guests in London because Granit and his wife Leonita became parents just five weeks earlier: Daughter Ayana is the eldest of three daughters.
But the private high is only one side of the story. Xhaka is also hurt and deeply affected because he was first insulted, then booed by the Arsenal fans and then removed as captain after his reaction. It's 2019 - and no one can yet predict how the man will first fight his way back at Arsenal and then lead Bayer Leverkusen to the league title.
Bild: zVg
The book "Mensch Fussballstar - Tabus, Depression, Terror, Tod und große Gefühle: Was die gefeierten Helden neben dem Platz erleben" was published by Meyer & Meyer Verlag on August 18.
"No, I'm not showering with the gay guy." This book begins with a sentence from an ex-Bundesliga player that reveals more than many would like. The book is about homophobia, racism, depression, suicidal thoughts and the question: what really makes the industry tick? Over 30 players and officials, including world champions, world coaches, world goalkeepers and the most powerful man in football, talk openly with blue Sport editor-in-chief Andreas Böni about taboo subjects.
To understand Granit Xhaka, you have to talk to his family. His father Ragip, his mother Eli and his brother Taulant mean the world to him. Together, they are repeatedly put to the test, fight against adversity - and always, really always find their way back to success.
The family story begins in Basel. It was September 27, 1992, when Granit Xhaka was born a year and a half after his brother Taulant. "We got up to a lot of nonsense as children," says Taulant: "Things were always breaking in our apartment. We used to tie ten socks together to make a ball and play football in the hallway. Once until I bled." Granit had gone all out with the ball of socks. "It hit the lamp, it fell over, right on my head, over my right eye. I started to bleed and cry. My parents were in shock at first. When they realized that it was because of the kicking in the apartment and that I was getting better quickly, they laughed with us. 20 minutes later we were playing football again. But I still have a scar over my eye to this day."
Tough and solid, as evidenced by his parents' choice of name. Taulant is named after a mountain in Albania ("my father was there and met a little boy who was called like the mountain"), and Granit after the hard rock ("my grandmother suggested the name").
As children, they played football all day in St. Johanns Park. "There was a man who watched all day," says Taulant. "When we were about five and six years old, he asked us if we were already in the club. We said no, and he told us we absolutely had to join Concordia." They both got off to a flying start there: "Granit was a striker at the time, and was an extremely fast and powerful header. I was more of a six-man or central defender and was captain." Granit was better at school. "I have to admit, he had less trouble," says Taulant.
They later joined FC Basel and both still wear the number 34 to this day. The reason: they always took the 34 bus to training. When the two of them are out and about together, their parents give Granit the key - from kindergarten onwards, because Taulant always loses everything. "It's still like that today," he says, "if I have too many things with me, I lose them. They also gave Granit the money when we needed some." At first, Granit was offended. "But then I realized that it's better if Granit has these things," he says with a laugh. They only get angry with each other when playing PlayStation. Taulant: "Every time he won, he was provocative. Always. We both hate losing. But it's mainly him who provokes us after wins."
Everything changed for the Xhakas in 2011. Granit moves to Gladbach, Taulant to Grasshoppers. Dad Ragip takes unpaid leave as a gardener, goes with him to Germany, initially sleeps in a double room with Granit in the hotel and later lives with him. It's not easy: not only is the family separated for the first time, but Granit is often on the bench. "He was going through a difficult time. My father supported him, I spoke to him on the phone every day. After a year, he said he wanted to go back, he had imagined it differently. But Lucien Favre then encouraged him. Fortunately, he had the patience, he matured and then became captain."
At that time, Leonita came into his life and became his great love: "She was very good for him. He always wanted a big family," says Taulant. Family comes first. When he played for Gladbach, Granit was quoted as saying: "Because we owe everything to our parents, we want to give something back to them today and give them 80% of our income every month." Taulant later explains, "We already have our own accounts, but we are always there when our parents need something."
The 2016 European Championship, when Switzerland played with Granit against Albania with Taulant, was mentally challenging. The older boy recounts: "It was brutal emotion. My mother almost couldn't sleep because she was so nervous. Granit and I spoke on the phone the day before and said: we're opponents on the pitch and brothers again afterwards."
Special clash at the 2016 European Championship.
Keystone
And then comes the event that will affect Granit Xhaka deeply for a long time to come. It happened on October 27, 2019 in the match against Crystal Palace, which ended 2:2. First the Arsenal fans cheered the substitution of their captain Granit Xhaka, then they booed him. Driven by emotion, he spurs the crowd on to boo even louder, puts his hand to his ear provocatively and shakes his head repeatedly.
Finally, he rips off his shirt. English media even claim to have read "Fuck off!" from Xhaka's lips. Xhaka then stopped playing for Arsenal for weeks, was dismissed as captain and attacked as a person. It was a great humiliation that Xhaka had to endure in those days.
Xhaka can laugh again that evening. Fading out is part and parcel of being a professional. He says: "You can probably say that everything was very turbulent. Last week in particular was a very special emotional experience for me. But I'm doing very well again, I've trained well this week and I'm looking forward to the next matches."
The emotions naturally accompany him onto the pitch. "When my shirt number lit up on the fourth official's board and the cheers of my own fans erupted, it really affected and upset me. It was very painful and frustrating. I still can't understand this reaction today, especially the vehemence and the extreme hostility I was subjected to here."
He continues: "Fans have been an integral part of my sport for as long as I can remember. And I've always had great respect for the commitment and the sacrifices the fans make to support us players. Justified criticism from them makes you grow as an athlete. And the power and energy they bring to the game makes every athlete love football even more." - "It makes me feel part of a big football family. But when you're insulted by that same football family at a time when you're already facing a lot of hostility, it really hurts. I don't mean that I can't take criticism. If me and the team don't play well, we have to listen to it and work on ourselves. But if you insult and abuse your own captain, you bring unrest and a bad atmosphere to the team you actually support. That makes no sense to me and weakens the team spirit."
October 27, 2019: Granit Xhaka can't believe what's happening to him.
imago
Some players go to Xhaka after the humiliation and comfort him. "I thought that was great. It gave me positive motivation not to let it get me down and, above all, it showed how many Arsenal fans around the world didn't like the reaction of the fans in the stadium either and condemned it."
Granit Xhaka publishes a communiqué after the incident. There he writes of vile insults. "Your daughter should get cancer," is one of the nasty sentences on social media. "These are just a few examples of what has been thrown at me and my family. But let's be honest, we're talking about football and a captaincy here. I know that means the world to many in London. And since I've been here, I've been one hundred percent behind the club and my role as a player here. I am proud to be able to play for this great club. I have said more than once what this means to me. But nevertheless, we are now at a point where I have to say clearly that we should stop and check whether things are not getting completely out of hand. In my life, I have always stood for the values of fair play, respect and loyalty. What I had to experience here has nothing to do with that, it goes beyond any normal level."
Social media is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the stars become even bigger. But at the same time, they are also approachable. Susceptible to abuse. "For me, my platforms offer the chance to let my fans participate in my sporting career and also in my private life, to 'follow' me in the truest sense of the word. What used to be fan mail is now made possible by Instagram and co. in a much more up-to-date and realistic way," says Xhaka. "I think that's great. But this opportunity is also a double-edged sword, as I've now found out. There really are people who make a hobby of insulting people every day. They even go so far as to criticize you for work you haven't even done. People insult me because of the way I played last weekend, when I wasn't even on the pitch. That's crazy!"
Xhaka's thoughts continue: "What once began as a bulletin board for friends is now increasingly becoming a forum for people who want to insult others. People are now allowed to incite hatred against private individuals or public figures such as musicians, actors or even athletes without consequences if they don't like something. The rules of decency and respect obviously no longer apply to many people here!" What kind of people are these who viciously and wantonly insult others? "I'm sorry, but I don't want to deal with that."
People also wish his wife dead on social media. The fact that Xhaka talks openly about it also earns him respect. "I've received a lot of positive feedback, especially from the sports scene, be it from players or coaches. And also from many Arsenal fans from all over the world. That shows me that I've addressed an important point here and that it was the right decision to show my emotions. That was well received and understood by the football family. That makes me very happy."
Granit Xhaka became an international in 2011 at the age of 18, at a time when there was hardly any social media. Was it easier? "What do you mean easier? Even eight years ago, there was heavy criticism from fans and the media. But what has changed thanks to social media are phenomena like 'shitstorms', which can overwhelm you from one minute to the next. Another new feature is the cloak of anonymity that can be used to lash out at players without fear of consequences. And what is new above all is that certain sentiments and statements on social platforms are often simply adopted uncritically and no longer scrutinized or questioned. That's often extreme. I'm 'old school', I like personal interaction and often take a lot of time for our fans if they want a selfie or an autograph."
Granit Xhaka, Switzerland's record international player with 137 caps to date.
Keystone
What does he say to people when they say: With an annual salary of eleven million francs, you just have to be able to do that? "For me, the one has nothing to do with the other. And it's not a license for insults. Respect and decency towards fellow human beings and the right way to deal with criticism should be practiced regardless of status or income. I have always been aware of my responsibility as part of a team towards the club and the fans and I always treat the fans in London politely and take time for them. There will be no other opinion, and that's how I've lived it since I've been in the public eye. And when I receive constructive criticism or the occasional harsh comment, I try to deal with it calmly and objectively. As I said: if we perform badly, you have to put up with it. I know that all too well from Basel and Mönchengladbach. But what happened here goes far beyond what is normal and is not justified by anything."
Xhaka and Arsenal are always up and down. At first he is criticized for red cards, then he fights his way back with strong performances. Only to be booed - and then fight his way back again... After flirting with AS Roma in 2021, he stayed at Arsenal after all. He himself is his strongest critic, "and how others judge, classify or assess my performance is often subjective, and everyone sees football differently. It's no different here in England and everyone is entitled to their own opinion."
On his time at Arsenal, he says: "For me, the review so far has been very positive. After a somewhat difficult start, I've played a lot and had a great time at Arsenal overall. My family and I also feel very much at home in the city of London. The events of the last week don't change that at all. I'm going to stay positive, get even more involved and prove that I'm an important part of this great team."
But to understand Granit Xhaka, you have to know his story and that of his family. Granit's father, Ragip Xhaka, is a man who has had to endure a lot, having spent three and a half years of his life in prison as a political prisoner. He is a strong man with an even stronger will.
Ragip Xhaka sits in Café da Graziella in Basel with coffee and mineral water. He looks thoughtfully at a faded tattoo. "R+O" is written on his left arm. "I got it together with a friend," says the short, sturdy man. "One day he wanted to go swimming with me in the lake, but I told him no. He went anyway, got into the water, was caught by a current and died. That's why I still can't bring myself to remove the tattoo."
It is a small part of the touching life story of Xhaka's father. His story begins in Pristina in what was then Yugoslavia, where Ragip was born in 1963 as one of three brothers. His father is a department manager in a large company that manufactures buses. He has dozens of employees under him. His mother is a housewife. It's a sheltered environment, "middle class", he says. "We wanted for nothing, we had money and our own house." He plays football for the juniors, "right-back, more like Taulant than Granit". In other words: more of a terrier than a strategist. At 17, a fractured tibia and fibula ended his career.
And a few years later, his normal life was over. He was arrested overnight at the age of 23. Why? "I have to go back a bit. I had just finished secondary school and was studying agricultural sciences. We students weren't happy with the communist leadership, we were demonstrating for better education, for better places to sleep, for better food - in short, for a better life. They were peaceful demonstrations, but we were bludgeoned by the police right from the start. They beat us until we were just lying on the ground. At the beginning there were 20,000 to 25,000 demonstrators in Pristina, but more and more people came who were dissatisfied with the overall situation. I met my wife at that time. We went to school together, she was four levels below me. We had been together for three months when I was suddenly arrested."
Ragip Xhaka (right) has a moving life story.
Keystone
He was sleeping in his bed at home at five in the morning: "The police officers climbed over the walls of my parents' house. My mother asked what they wanted. 'Your son,' they replied and stormed into my room. I was terrified, it was a shock for life. They gave me a second to put on a pair of pants and a sweater. Then they put me in handcuffs, put me in the van and took me to prison." The reason given was that he was rebelling against the state. "They made up some reason that we had been violent. But we were just students who wanted to demonstrate peacefully. Then they put me in a cell with four other men."
The size? "Just under four by two meters, including a free-standing toilet for all five of us. We were there for 23 hours and 50 minutes a day. We had ten minutes to walk around the yard, but we weren't even allowed to look up at the sky because of the prison rules."
What did he do in the cell all day? We "talked, thought, ate on the floor - there was no table or chairs. And read the newspaper. But it was censored. The critical articles about the government were cut out. So we had no idea what was going on outside, only the sports section was actually readable ... And every other day, the police called me into the office."
He was tortured. "To force a confession. I was tortured for six months, every other day. I was beaten on the palms of my hands, on the soles of my feet, on my legs, on my arms, on my upper body. With police truncheons, batons." But he never confesses. "No, I hadn't done anything except demonstrate. I was innocent. And I felt strong. I thought, let them beat me again. But of course, the fear that they would kill me was always there. I heard from other prisoners that they were tortured to death."
After six months, he goes to court. "I came to court. There I testified that we were beaten and tortured all the time. Nobody cared, everything was corrupt. I was sentenced to three years in prison." People were also allowed to visit him; his parents and his future wife came every two weeks. "But you were only allowed to meet in the presence of police officers. And not ask what was going on in the world. After 18 months, I was transferred to a prison 80 kilometers outside Pristina. It was a different life there. The building was new, we had a TV room, two-storey beds, the food was better and we were allowed to walk for an hour. At some point, Amnesty International got involved."
Ragip Xhaka accompanied his son Granit to Mönchengladbach.
imago
Everything was done secretly via the family, "because it was forbidden. My family had already had everything taken away from them because of me: the state kicked my father out of the company, my mother and my brothers too. My wife, who was a tax consultant, also lost her job. My father opened a restaurant to survive financially. And he spoke to Amnesty International, who then took action."
In what way? "They contacted the prison administration and visited me. They didn't know how to react. The prison bosses decided to show me off. I was given nice clothes and told not to say anything wrong about my life in prison to Amnesty."
Ragip Xhaka does not comply. "Of course not, I told the truth. At the risk of being beaten again. The people from Amnesty International then traveled back to Amsterdam and started to stand up for me. After three and a half years, redemption suddenly came."
What happened: "I didn't know my release date or anything. You never knew exactly what was coming. Suddenly the warden called me and said: 'You're free, you can go. They stood me outside the prison door and I was taken aback. I had no money in my pocket and no idea where I was. There were no cell phones or phone booths. I ran off and came to a house. They told me where there was a bus stop. So I kept walking until I saw a bus. The driver explained to me how to get to Pristina. They let me go home without any money. I got off there and met a boy. He asked: 'Are you Ragip? I said yes and he sprinted off."
It was the boy next door to his parents. "My father, my mother, my brothers, they all came running towards me, all crying. Even my wife, who had been waiting for me for three and a half years, was finally able to embrace me." They had known each other for three months when he was sent to prison for three and a half years. "A normal woman would have taken someone else. And I would have understood her. But it says everything about her character. However, I quickly realized that I no longer had a future in the country. Because my life had become difficult. I was no longer allowed to work. I was no longer allowed to study. I was afraid of being arrested again. Everything had been taken away from us. So I planned to escape, which made my mother cry. But for me, life there was over. Amnesty International told me they would help me once I was out of the country. I wanted to go to Holland with my wife."
He says: "My cousin was a chauffeur and sometimes took the bus to Switzerland. I was terrified of being arrested again at the border. But everything went well and I arrived at the bus station near Zurich main station. I will never forget my relief. From there, we wanted to take the train to Amsterdam to start a new life."
But the couple ended up staying in Switzerland. "Friends of my wife lived in Rothrist in Aargau. They told us to come and stay with them for two or three days to rest before continuing our journey. We agreed and they picked us up in Zurich. Once we were with them, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of security. I knew that I didn't want to leave." He soon got a residence permit. "My wife had my prison documents and Amnesty International leaflets with her. We were immediately granted refugee status and lived in the asylum center. Amnesty then organized a one-room apartment for us in Basel - and I started working straight away. I never wanted money from the state."
Ragip Xhaka with the book "Mensch Fussballstar".
zVg
He first worked as a waiter, then in construction - and finally as a landscape gardener. "Suddenly I was able to do something that was close to my agronomy degree. I got an unrestricted residence permit. What a feeling that was! At the same time, we learned German, integrated, I later became president of FC Dardania and was active in various clubs in the region. I was at a training camp in Turkey with one of them when I saw photos on the screen of the outbreak of war. Everyone tried to phone home. I could only reach my parents - they didn't have a phone - via my parents-in-law. In the end, my family had to flee Kosovo. To Albania, where many families took people in. When the war was over, they were able to return. But everything was destroyed, including my parents' house. It had to be rebuilt, it was terrible. But they managed, my father still lives there today at 86, as do many other relatives." His mother died of a stroke when she was 57, and his father is still affected "to this day".
Is he still in contact with your former fellow inmates? "Yes. You never forget something like that for the rest of your life. One of them lives in Delémont. He's like my brother, we hear from each other regularly."
Anyone who hears Ragip Xhaka's story will understand why his son Granit cheered with the double-headed eagle after scoring against Serbia at the 2018 World Cup. Even though his father says: "He never, never, never wanted to make a political statement. That was just out of emotion. I don't hate anyone, believe me." Xhaka also caused a stir again at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by taking a step towards the Serbian substitutes' bench.
He himself did not tell his children everything he had to experience in prison. "I've told them about 50 percent now. Only my wife and my father know everything. My sons don't need to know all the details."
But they have inherited the fighting spirit. Granit Xhaka became a legend at Arsenal, Taulant Xhaka at FC Basel. And the way Granit Xhaka fought his way back into the hearts of the fans at the top club, who even composed a song for him from the 2021/22 season onwards, is probably almost unique in the world. After his time in London, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen and became Switzerland's record international player. In 2024, he sensationally led Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title as the extended arm of coach Xabi Alonso. It is a satisfaction and at the same time he is planning his future as a coach: he has already obtained his first licenses. His next stop is now Sunderland.
And even in his success, Xhaka thinks of his family and how his father accompanied him to his first station abroad in Mönchengladbach: "He lived with me for almost two and a half years. The support you get from your parents is unique. For me and Tauli, there's nothing better than looking them in the face and seeing how proud they are. That's what we've actually always wanted to do: To make our parents proud, to give them something back for what they have done for us. I think we've done that well so far - and hopefully will continue to do so."
