Granit Xhaka Biography

Born on 27 September 1992, Granit Xhaka is a talented midfielder whose abilities led him to become a prominent footballer of the

club. From Switzerland, Xhaka is a professional footballer of the 

 club Arsenal, who captains the

national team. The start of Granit Xhaka's career history refers to the play for his hometown club, Basel, where he won in both of his first two seasons of the Swiss Super League.

The year 2012 was a period for him, which outstands in Granit Xhaka biography because meanwhile, he transferred to the Bundesliga team

. Alongside his joining the club, Granit Xhaka earned an extra reputation for himself via his technical style of play, natural leader beside his temperament.

When Xhaka became the captain of Borussia Monchengladbach, he could lead his team to UEFA Champions' League qualification, though it was his second successive season. Xhaka's transfer to Arsenal has been a high-profile one, which he completed for £30 million fees. In addition to his excellent performance in Arsenal, Xhaka played for the Swiss team and had an efficient role in winning the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

According to 

Granit Xhaka date of birth

, when he made his senior debut, Granit was only 19, and since then, he has gained more than 800 caps and represented the nation at the UEFA Euro 2016, the FIFA World Cup in 2011 and 2014. Moreover, in 2018, Xhaka ranked eighth in terms of the most Googled personality in his country, Switzerland. 

Related Article: 

All You Need to Know about Granit Xhaka Biography

After knowing the 28-year-old defender of Arsenal much better, now it is time to take a closer look at all related issues, including Granit Xhaka nationality, religion, and other professional data. Stay with us in the following article to know him more, especially if you are an Arsenal fan. 

Related Article: 

Granit Xhaka Information

We have dedicated the first part of the article to topics, including Granit Xhaka bio, physical stats, personal and professional info. 

Granit Xhaka Bio

• Full Name:

   Granit Xhaka

• Nickname:

   Xhakaboon 

• Foot:

   Left

Granit Xhaka Physical Stats

• Weight:

   82 kg

• Height:

   1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)

• Eye Color:

   Brown

• Hair Color:

   Dark Brown

Granit Xhaka Football Information

• Position:

   Midfielder

• Jersey Number:

   34 

• Professional Debut:

   4 June 2011

Granit Xhaka Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth:

   27 September 1992

• Birth Place:

   Basel, Switzerland

• Zodiac Sign:

   Libra

• Nationality:

   Swiss, Kosovar

Though fans of the football world, especially the Arsenal ones, know Xhaka and his excellent midfield abilities, fewer consider Granit Xhaka biography, full of fascinating topics. Be with us till the end of the article to get all related issues to 

Granit Xhaka bio

. 

Related Article: 

Granit Xhaka Early Life

Born on 27 September 1992, Granit Xhaka comes from his Albanian family from Podujevo, which then became a part of the SFR Yugoslavia and Kosovo. The 

Granit Xhaka nationality

 refers to Basel, Switzerland, which he was born 28 years ago. Understanding the early 

Granit Xhaka life story

 depends on understanding his family, suffering, pulling together, and working tirelessly to overcome difficulties. Due to various troubles and the civil war, Ragip Xhaka, and Elmaz Xhaka, Granit's parents, chose emigration to Switzerland for a fresh start. 

With 18 months difference, Taulant Xhaka is the first son of the family and Granit Xkaha's older brother, born in Basel in 1991. Learning how to Overcome various hardships from his father, Granit Xhaka, and his brother grew up with mental strength. 

Though Granit Xhaka nationality refers to his Kosovo-Albanian roots, which he never forgets, he owes whatever Granit has and the opportunities he confronted to Switzerland.

Related Article: 

Granit Xhaka Profile

We start this part of

Granit Xhaka biography

by reviewing his career, which he began in the youth club, Concordia Basel, and has continued it till now by playing for Arsenal. In 2012-11 UEFA Champions League in the away game against 

, he made his debut for the Basel first team and could record the second goal of Basel's 2-0 victory in his name.

Xhaka's first Super League goal is from the home match against 

 in 2011, in which Basel won 5-1. In Granit Xhaka's career history, the seasons 2010-11 and 2011-12 were full of achievements. Because in addition to winning the Super League Championship title, he won the Double, the League Championship title, and the Swiss Cup with the club.

Afterward, in MAY 2012, announced the news of Xhaka's agreement with Lucien Favre's Borussia Monchengladbach for €8.5 million. Granit's debut for Borussia was in a DFB-Pokal first-round match against 

.

After five years of playing and appearing in competitions against various clubs, such as

,

,

, and

, Xhaka joined Arsenal in 2016. Signing a fee of about £30–35 million, Granit Xhaka made his debut for Arsenal, in which they won the MLS All-Stars in a 2-1 victory.

Throughout Granit's playing as the midfielder of Arsenal, he has appeared in many competitions against various top teams, including Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Swansea City, and Chelsea. By looking at Granit Xhaka's career history in international matches, you will confront a wide range of competitions he has played in and shown an excellent performance from himself. He has played in the tournaments as a player of Switzerland youth squads, Switzerland-under 21, and Switzerland senior team. 

Style of Play

Though Granit Xhaka is sometimes overly aggressive on the pitch, the Swiss star appears there with a dominant presence. The Swiss star has not only physical attributes but a mental reading of the game. All these abilities have let Granit play as a real star on the pitch with high standards. The strength points of the Arsenal midfielder are not limited to the winning possession of the ball.

Granit's patience, composure, and control of the ball matches are some of the other strong points of his style, which have made his performance unique and as deserving as to be called a professional show. Although Granit Xhaka has not recorded many direct assists, he has often been famous for his ability to start attacking plays. Possibly, what seems like the most prominent item among Granit's skill and aptitude are his capabilities in quickening or slowing down the speed based on what the situation needs. 

Reception

Showing talent, unique style, and excellent play, Granit Xhaka, the brilliant midfielder, has arisen the praise of many experts in the football world. One of the comments around Granit Xhaka's admiration is the one which Ottmar Hitzfeld, the former Switzerland coach, has commented.

Based on Hitzfeld's viewpoint Granit is such a young Bastian Schweinsteiger, while his qualities are more similar to a 30-something Paul Scholes. By looking at 

Granit Xhaka biography

, you can find many receptions regarding him, while mentioning all of them in the article is impossible. 

Goal Celebration

Though goal-scorers show their happiness by what they do after scoring the goals, they want to transfer some meaning by them, too, which sometimes may cause them a charge by FIFA. Granit Xhaka celebrates his goal in several ways, which in the following, we are going through its details. In a 2-1 World Cup match against 

in Kaliningrad, Granit showed Albanian gestures to celebrate their goals, but FIFA charged him. Granit Xhaka, an Albanian-Kosovan inheritance raised in Switzerland, tried to simulate a double-headed eagle by putting his hands together, such as the eagle on the Albanian flag. 

Whether he had an especial reason by doing it or not, the gesture considered the risk of inciting political tensions in the Balkans, among the Serbian nationalities and the ethnic ones. Their problem refers to the time Kosovo was a Serbian province, which in 2008 declared independence while did not approve the idea and led both countries to remain tense. 

Although there is no FIFA rule for punishments showing any national flag, it has a disciplinary code for provoking the general public. Based on the code, if a player arises public, FIFA will ban him for up to two matches, that the same law implied to Xhaka's celebration.

However, Granit celebrates his gains in other ways, including putting an index finger to his lips, as if he is trying to tell the fans of their rivals to be quiet. Many players celebrate their achievements by it, such as Raul, the former

.

Moreover, Xhaka has shaped his finger on both hands to make a heart while he was celebrating his goals. Also, one of other recorded celebration in Granit Xhaka biography is the sign he makes by putting his hand behinds his ear to pretend he is trying to listen to the fans' reaction better. 

Related Article: 

Granit Xhaka Outside Football

Since Granit Xhaka prefers not to share anything about his personal and private life, he has published nothing about what he does rather than playing football. However, probably since his daughter's birth, Ayana Xhaka, he spends most of his time with his new family of three. Additionally, Xhaka has started a friendship with a down syndrome boy since 2015 and spends time with him, too.

Related Article: 

Granit Xhaka Personal Life

Title of personal life contains not only the family life but also his personality and even his religion. Although Granit is a Swiss player, his family is from Albania, a country, its predominant religion is Islam. So, Granit Xhaka religion is Islam too, and he is along with the players such as

and

, who are parts of the generation of Muslim players. 

The following article about the personal life of the 28-year-old player has contained Granit Xhaka childhood and other biography facts, which give you a full account of remarkable events, including his life story from Granit Xhaka date of birth to now. 

Family, Children, and Relationship

Granit Xhaka was born to his parents, who came originally from Kursumlija, Serbia. His father, Ragip Xhaka, once was a political prisoner because he had protested against the then Communist Yugoslavia rule in Kosovo around the right of existing for himself and his people. Ragip, with his incredible strength, worked as a role model for his children and taught them the principle of achieving their dreams by being patient and strong.

Being spent 

Granit Xhaka childhood

 beside the father who persisted on their rights, the basic democratic ones, including voting, led Granit to grow up in a way that did not allow anyone to take his rights. However, his efforts to achieve their rights caused him a 3-year and a half punishment.

About Granit Xhaka's mother, not much info is available, but she met Ragib only three months before his imprisonment and then waited for him for about three years and a half while passing her young age. Being so respectful to him, Granit has called her mother, Elamz Xhaka, an incredible person.

In April 2017, by donning a fancy brown suit and then getting down on one knee, Granit Xhaka proposed to his partner to get married to him. Having said yes, Leonita Lekaj celebrated the news on her Instagram by posting a photo. Alongside posting the same picture, Granit Xhaka published the message that " she said yes. A golden ball is a miracle, and a golden wife is a paradise! Mr. and Mrs. Xhaka." 

Finally, in July 2017, Granit Xhaka got married to Leontia Lekaj, his long-term girlfriend. The couple has recently become the parents of a cute daughter, whose name is Ayana Xhaka. Granit Xhaka announced the news of his fatherhood, for the first time, by sharing a photo showing his and Lekaj's hands with the small hand of their baby. 

Philanthropy

Whether he has not done anything or done a lot, there is no authentic source to support them. It might be because Granit Xhaka is not interested in publishing so many facts about his personal life and even his routine life. In any case, there are no facts about any activities rather than football, which he has taken part in them. 

Legal Issues

One legal issue in Granit Xhaka life story is when the police arrested him for taking part in a student demonstration in 1986, at his 22. His protest against the central government in Belgrade caused him to serve three years and a half of a six-year prison penalty before being released in 1990. Afterward, his family emigrated to Podujevo, which is a district of Pristina to Switzerland. 

Related Article: 

Granit Xhaka Career Statistics

In the following part of Granit Xhaka biography, we have taken a look at his career statistics and review them by his plays in clubs and international matches. 

Clubs

To analyze Xhaka's club plays, we have started from the first team played for, Basel. In season 2011-12, Xhaka appeared in 26 in all competitions but scored two goals. In the next season, 2011-12, during all his 35 appearances, Xhaka was not successful in scoring any goals. When he started to play for Borussia Monchengladbach, he had become a more professional player with more experience, which led him to play better in four consecutive seasons than he had done in the past.

In season 2012-13, Xhaka appeared 33 times in all competitions and scored one goal, though, during 29 appearances in the next season, he could not record any goals in his career history. However, by scoring five goals in 42 appearances and 3three ones in 36 matches, Granit Xhaka made up for his not-so-successful performance in the last season.

Joining Arsenal, a top and successful club, Granit has played five seasons, which during his playing time could show his excellent performance and work efficiently for the club. Throughout the first season, 2016-17, Xhaka appeared in 46 games and scored four goals. In the next two seasons, by appearing 48 and 40 times, he scored sequentially 3 and 4 goals.

Regarding the last two seasons, despite appearing 41 and 21 times in all competitions, he scored one goal for each season. In summary, what Granit could earn for Arsenal in Premier League was scoring nine goals in his 145 appearances. By reviewing all Xhaka career statistics among his club matches, numbers show he took part in 398 competitions and scored 24 times. 

International 

From 2011 to 2020, Granit Xhaka has appeared in 89 competitions as a player of the Switzerland national team in 10 years and could score 12 goals. The fewest times he took part in international matches refers to the year 2011, in which he scored one goal. Contrary, he appeared the most in 2016, though he did record any goals for himself. 

Granit Xhaka Honors

The item we have chosen as the last part of 

Granit Xhaka biography

 is his honors. Going through Granit's gains caused us to group them to what he achieved on Basel, Arsenal, Switzerland U 17, Switzerland U21, and by his individual. During his playing for Arsenal, Granit Xhka was successful in various honors, including FA Cup, FA Community Shield, EFA Cup runner-up, and UEFA Europa League runner-up.

While Xhaka was a Basel player, he won the Swiss Super League 2010-11 and 2011-12 and the Swiss Cup. The honors Granit got are not just about his senior playing period, but he gained FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009 and UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up in 2011 when he was young.

Two of Granit Xhaka's honors belonging to the individual achievements are Credit Suisses Youth Player of the Year in 2012 and Credit Suisse Player of the Year in 2017. 

Searching on the Internet about the 28-year-old star will bring a lot of data regarding Granit Xhaka biography on various websites. Our team has gathered the contents of authentic ones and prepared the following comprehensive article from 

Granit Xhaka religion

 to his career statistics. However, if there is any other fact about Granit Xhaka biography we have missed, share it with us in the comment section. 

READ MORE:

Follow 

 for the