Granit Xhaka won the double with Leverkusen last year. Because of this and Switzerland’s good performance at the European Championships, he was once again named footballer of the year. However, he was unable to accept the award in person.
Granit Xhaka was named best footballer of 2024 by the Swiss Football Association (SFV) and the Swiss Football League (SFL) at the “Swiss Football Night” on Monday.
The reasons for this individual honor were clear: the 135-time national player, who last summer, as captain of the Nati, was dramatically defeated on penalties by eventual finalists England, won the German championship with Bayer 04 Leverkusen – and did so unbeaten, ahead of FC Bayern.
On top of that, Xhaka capped the Rhineland triumph as the leader of the Werkself with the title in the DFB Cup (1-0 in the final against second division club Kaiserslautern). Only the “small” triple was denied him and Bayer – in the final of the Europa League, they lost 3-0 to Atalanta Bergamo.
Awards also for Reuteler and former Bundesliga pro Steffen
Xhaka has now been named Swiss Footballer of the Year for the fourth time. He has already won the award in 2017, 2022 and 2023, so his latest triumph marks a special hat trick for him. The officially used title of “Credit Suisse Male National Player” has only been awarded since 2021/22 – at the beginning, former Gladbach player Yann Sommer (Inter Milan) had triumphed.
Incidentally, Basel-born Xhaka was unable to be there in person, but was shown via video link. The reason for his absence: Leverkusen is preparing for the upcoming Bundesliga clash with Mainz 05 this Tuesday.
“I wouldn’t say it was my year,” said Xhaka, visibly beaming with joy. “It was our year – an outstanding, successful year for the whole of Switzerland. I would like to thank everyone for their support, especially our national coach Murat Yakin.” At almost 33 years old, he is no longer the youngest, but he is looking ahead with confidence to the World Cup qualifiers and hopefully reaching the tournament in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) in the summer of 2026.
Incidentally, Geraldine Reuteler, who has been playing for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Women’s Bundesliga since 2020, won the award for female national player of the year. And the title of best player active in the Swiss Super League was won by former Wolfsburg player Renato Steffen. The 33-year-old midfielder has been playing for FC Lugano in the Swiss top flight since 2022.
