The 33-year-old winger returned to his former club – where he helped them win the first three of eight consecutive league titles in his younger years – in the summer and hopes to help them change their fortunes after failing to win the Swiss league since 2017.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “It was really special to come back home. I love being here every day to train and play at a wonderful stadium in front of my family and the amazing fans, who deserve to celebrate something again.

“It’s my goal to get the club back where it belongs, winning titles and enjoying European nights.

“I’m still the same player, but I’m more experienced and mature, and I’m trying to bring that winning mentality to the younger players.

“It’s important for them to understand what it means to play for FC Basel.”

And Xherdan admitted one of his reasons for quitting international football last summer with 125 Swiss caps to his name was to focus on Basel.

He said: “It was the right time to leave the national team, because I want to focus only on Basel.

“It’s been eight years since they won the league, and I will give everything to get the club back there.

“We’ve been going in a good direction but there’s still a lot of work to do.

“I’m also happy to have more days off when the international break comes.”