Hoeness cools Shaqiri hype

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness believes Xherdan Shaqiri still has a long way to go before he is at the same level as Franck Ribery.

Switzerland international Shaqiri put in a man of the match performance in Bayern’s 6-1 DFB Pokal semi-final win over Wolfsburg earlier this week, prompting the Bavarian club’s sporting director Matthias Sammer to describe him as world class.

However, Hoeness is not getting carried away following Shaqiri’s fine form and has stressed the winger still has room for improvement.

“Shaqiri put in a good performance, but he is not at Ribery’s level yet,” Hoeness was quoted as saying by Bild.

“He still has a long way to go before he’s on par with Ribery.”

The 21-year-old, meanwhile, remains humble as he realises he faces a tough task to relegate Ribery to the bench.

He said: “It was a good game from me, but I still have room for improvement. It’s not easy when a world-class player like Ribery is your biggest rival. He’s a good friend, though.”

Shaqiri has netted seven goals in 32 appearances in all competitions so far this term.