Granit Xhaka
CDMCM
Switzerland34 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CDM
Defensive midfieldMain
5,938 min · 70 apps · 66 starts
CM
Central midfield
2,665 min · 31 apps · 31 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Sunderland · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement84%
Performance49%
Through the match on 5 Nov 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Granit Xhaka is a Swiss midfielder whose passing helps a team move from keeping the ball to threatening goal. His left foot can switch play towards the opposite wing or send a runner into space behind a full-back. That ability to change the direction of an attack gives his work its distinctive value.
Born in Basel, Xhaka began with Concordia Basel before entering FC Basel’s academy. He won two Swiss league titles and the Swiss Cup with Basel, then moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012. Four years in Germany preceded his 2016 move to Arsenal, where he spent seven seasons and helped win two FA Cups.
His move to Bayer Leverkusen in July 2023 brought a different setting for those passing skills. In Xabi Alonso’s side, Xhaka was heavily involved in the build-up before chances were created. He could connect an early phase of possession to the final attack without necessarily supplying the last pass himself.
Leverkusen won the Bundesliga unbeaten in 2023/24 and completed a domestic double with the German Cup. Xhaka supplied the decisive moment in the cup final against Kaiserslautern on 25 May 2024, curling in the only goal from distance. It was a conspicuous finish from a player whose influence often came earlier in a move.
His distribution was more than safe circulation. Opta’s analysis of his 2024/25 season described passes from central areas behind opposing full-backs, releasing wide players to cross. It also found that he maintained his passing accuracy under close pressure. Together, those traits explain how he could advance possession while opponents tried to crowd him.
Xhaka joined Sunderland in July 2025. There, his game also involved dropping back to support the defenders, anticipating passes and helping deal with balls into the defensive line. He captained the side during a 2025/26 campaign that ended with seventh place and qualification for the Europa League.
For Switzerland, he captained the team that eliminated France on penalties in June 2021 at EURO 2020, and received UEFA’s Star of the Match award. He also played throughout the 2026 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, which Switzerland lost 3–1 after extra time.