BREAKING: “The Emirates will always be my home — I’d never betray the club that raised me. The only reason I moved to Leverkusen was because of him. There’s one player who just couldn’t stand having me in the dressing room,” Granit Xhaka reportedly said in tears, explaining the real reason behind his departure from Arsenal three summers ago.

Let’s set the record straight — Granit Xhaka never said that, not once, not anywhere. Every credible outlet that matters — BBC Sport, The Athletic, Sky Sports Deutschland, Bild, and Arsenal’s own media — has no trace of such words ever coming from his mouth. His verified social media pages are spotless, free of the supposed drama that’s now circling online. And those sketchy “links” making the rounds? They don’t lead to truth, only to shady betting traps with malware waiting to bite.

 

The real story behind Xhaka’s Arsenal exit is far simpler, far classier. In May 2023, he told Mikel Arteta, man-to-man, that he was ready for a new challenge after seven solid years at the club. No bitterness, no shouting match — just honesty. A month later, Bayer Leverkusen came forward with a £21.5 million offer that suited everyone.

 

Then, on July 6, 2023, Xhaka posted an emotional farewell video. He thanked the Arsenal fans, his teammates, and Arteta — the man who, in his words, “gave me my smile back.” It wasn’t the speech of a man burning bridges; it was gratitude in motion.

 

Every interview he gave afterward painted the same picture. He told Sky and DAZN that it was simply time for his family to return home to Germany. He spoke highly of Xabi Alonso’s vision and his excitement to be part of it. “Nothing negative — only love for Arsenal,” he said. The man made his peace, left on good terms, and moved forward.

 

Even years later, he’s kept that same energy. In August 2025, speaking to The Guardian, Xhaka reminded everyone that Arsenal “saved my career” after the captaincy chaos of 2019. He said, “Mikel gave me my smile back. I will always be grateful.” That doesn’t sound like a man holding grudges; it sounds like someone who’s finally found balance.

 

So, where did the so-called quote come from? It’s an AI-fabricated remix of old 2020 gossip — the days of Aubameyang and Guendouzi drama — dressed up with bad grammar to look believable. This isn’t new; similar scams have targeted players like Harry Kane and Virgil van Dijk with laughably fake statements just to farm clicks.

 

It goes deeper than cheap rumors, too. Cyber experts at Malwarebytes tracked the “FULL STORY” domain spreading the fake quote to a larger phishing network — the same one that reportedly snatched 180,000 login credentials in October alone. The bait isn’t Xhaka’s words; it’s your data.

 

So here’s the deal: don’t click, don’t share, and don’t pity a version of Xhaka that doesn’t exist. He’s too busy lifting trophies to care about clickbait. As he proudly said after going unbeaten with Leverkusen in 2024: “Rumours come and go. Trophies stay forever.