Xhaka's move from Leverkusen was surrounded by rumors that he wanted to return to the Premier League. However, Xhaka has clarified that the issue was not with Leverkusen's manager, Erik ten Hag.

"It annoys me that Erik is being portrayed as the problem," Xhaka said. "He was never the problem, never! He only called me after three or four weeks because he didn't want to disturb me during the holidays."

Xhaka explained that he had a good conversation with ten Hag, and that their relationship was not as strained as reported. Xhaka also stated that he would have played under ten Hag's leadership.

Ten Hag has been working to replace key players who left Leverkusen this summer, including Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong. Xhaka's departure was one of the losses that Leverkusen suffered during this transfer window.