Granit Xhaka should not captain Switzerland as he does not represent the country, says Stephane Henchoz

The former Liverpool defender thinks the Arsenal midfielder's Albanian roots would make him a divisive choice

Granit Xhaka is not a suitable future Switzerland captain because of his Albanian heritage, according to former Liverpool defender Stephane Henchoz.

Arsenal teammate Stephan Lichtsteiner is currently in possession of the Swiss armband, but Xhaka is widely regarded as one of the leading candidates to succeed him when the former Juventus man, now 34, calls time on his international career.

Henchoz believes this would be a bad idea, claiming that Xhaka’s Balkan roots would make him a divisive choice to lead a squad of players from a wide range of different backgrounds.

“He's a regular player at Arsenal, but I think a captain must represent Switzerland and the team,” Henchoz told Blick, a Swiss-German language newspaper. “Xhaka doesn't.

“This would be a real problem. Players like [Yann] Sommer, Lichtsteiner or [Fabian] Schar, who represent traditional Switzerland, could feel excluded, just like fans who might not be able to identify with the team.

“The Swiss players without a migration background and Swiss fans, they would feel marginalised.”

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Xhaka – whose older brother Taulant plays for the Albania national team - is one of Switzerland’s most experienced players, having been capped 66 times and scored 10 goals, but his international career has not been without controversy.

He and Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri were each fined £7,600 by Fifa for doing a politically-charged celebration during Switzerland’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Serbia in the group stage of last summer’s World Cup.

Shaqiri, who was born in Kosovo, and Xhaka, who was born to Albanian parents from Kosovo and whose father was a political prisoner in Yugoslavia in 1986, both put their hands together to form a double-headed eagle similar to the one on the Albanian flag when they scored Switzerland’s goals in the game.

The gesture is a controversial one in light of the fact that Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, and both men subsequently apologised for their actions.

Switzerland open their Uefa Nations League campaign at home to Iceland on Saturday before taking on England in a friendly at Wembley next Wednesday.