Shaqiri was born in Gjilan, SFR Yugoslavia, to Kosovar Albanian parents. He immigrated to Switzerland in 1992 with his parents and three siblings. They settled in Augst, a small town in the canton of Basel-Country, near the French and German borders.

Shaqiri started his career at hometown club SV Augst, and at the age of eight he was scouted by FC Basel. Whilst playing for Basel’s youth team, he competed in the Under-15 Nike Cup 2007 and was named the best player of the tournament. Despite having several other clubs attempting to sign him, he decided to stay with Basel, where he played for their reserve team from 2007 to 2009 in the Swiss 1. Liga. Two years later, Shaqiri signed his first professional contract with Basel on 2 January 2009, with the new contract keeping him at St. Jakob-Park until December 2011.

Shaqiri made his Basel club debut as a substitute on 12 July 2009 in Basel’s 2009–10 season opening match against FC St. Gallen at the AFG Arena. Four months later he scored his first goal for Basel in a 4–1 win over Neuchâtel Xamax at home on 9 November 2009. At the end of the 2009–10 season Shaqiri won the national Double with Basel, and a year later won the league title again.

Shaqiri made his debut for Switzerland under-21s on 11 November 2009 in a 3–1 win against Turkey in a 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier. He scored his first goal for them on 11 June 2011 in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship opening game against Denmark.

Shaqiri was promoted to the Switzerland senior team in 2010, making his debut on 3 March 2010 in a 3–1 friendly loss against Uruguay. He was included in the 2010 World Cup squad, after receiving a surprise call-up from manager Ottmar Hitzfeld. Shaqiri scored his first goal for them on 7 September 2010, a long range left-footed shot, in a 1–3 loss against England in a Euro 2012 qualifier. He netted a hat-trick in another Euro 2012 qualifier on 6 September 2011, as Switzerland came from behind to beat Bulgaria 3–1. Switzerland also tried to select him to participate in the 2012 Olympic Football tournament, but he opted to stay at his new club for pre-season training.

In December 2011, Shaqiri provided two assists in a match against Manchester United, with Basel winning 2–1. At the end of the 2011–12 season, for the second time in his Basel stint, he won the Double, consisting of the League title, and the Swiss Cup.

On 9 February 2012, Basel announced that Shaqiri had accepted a transfer to German club Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga for the 2012–13 season. The transfer fee was a reported €11.6 million, with Shaqiri signing a four-year contract with the German club which would last until 30 June 2016, and which paid him around €2 million per season. He faced competition for a place in the midfield from established internationals Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller.

On 10 July 2012, Shaqiri made his debut in a 1–0 friendly win against Bavarian neighbours SpVgg Unterhaching. His first competitive appearance for the club came on 20 August in a DFB-Pokal match at SSV Jahn Regensburg, as a half-time substitute. He scored Bayern’s second goal as well as providing assists for Mario Mandžukić and Claudio Pizarro, with Bayern winning 4–0. He helped Bayern secure the top spot in their 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group by scoring a goal and providing assists in a 4–1 defeat of BATE Borisov on 5 December, winning the man of the match award and avenging their defeat in Minsk.

On 11 September 2012, Shaqiri did not sing the Swiss national anthem in a World Cup qualifier against his ancestral Albania in Lucerne, and did not celebrate when he scored the opening goal of a 2–0 win. He wore boots with the flags of Kosovo, Albania and Switzerland for the match.

Shaqiri did not score his first Bundesliga goal until the final league match of the 2012 calendar year, rescuing a point for them in a 1–1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach, leaving Bayern in first place at the winter break. On 16 April 2013, Shaqiri also scored in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against VfL Wolfsburg with a long-range shot. Although he did not play in the final, Shaqiri won the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League title with Bayern, as well as the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal title, making him one of the Bayern Munich players to have won the first treble in club history; he added the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to his achievements that year. By June 2014, Shaqiri was reported to be the most decorated Swiss footballer of all time at just 22, with 13 medals to his name.

In June 2014, Shaqiri was named in Switzerland’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the team’s opening match, Shaqiri was named man of the match by FIFA as the Nati defeated Ecuador. He earned the same title a mere ten days later in Switzerland’s third and final group match, scoring a hat-trick against Honduras, which included a bending strike from 30 yards, to ensure Switzerland a spot in the round of 16, where they lost 1–0 to Argentina.

Shaqiri scored three times in Switzerland’s successful qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 2016, with all of his strikes coming against Lithuania. He recorded a brace on 15 November 2014 in a 4–0 win over them in St. Gallen, and in the reverse fixture the following 14 June, he netted an 84th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory. In the final tournament in France, he started all four of Switzerland’s matches as they reached the last 16, equalising with a bicycle kick from the edge of the penalty area as they drew 1–1 with Poland in Saint-Étienne; he scored again in the penalty shootout but the Poles won nonetheless.

Shaqiri transferred to Italian club Inter Milan on 9 January 2015 for €15 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract, though English club Stoke City had previously declared an interest in signing him. With his previous number of 23 being taken by Andrea Ranocchia, Shaqiri chose the number 91 for his Inter shirt, representing his birth year. He was an unused substitute in Inter’s 3–1 victory over Genoa at San Siro. He made his debut for Inter on 17 January, playing in the last 16 minutes as a substitute for fellow new signing Lukas Podolski. Shaqiri made his Coppa Italia debut in a match against Sampdoria in the round of 16 on 22 January, scoring the first goal of the match and helping the team to a 2–0 win to progress into the quarter-finals.

Shaqiri scored his first Serie A goal on 15 February 2015 in a 4–1 away win against Atalanta. Four days later, he registered his first European tournament goal for Inter, scoring the opener from a Zdravko Kuzmanović assist in a 3–3 UEFA Europa League draw away to Celtic.

In July 2015, Stoke agreed a £12 million fee to sign Shaqiri, but the deal fell through when he did not agree to the move before a deadline imposed by the club. The deal was revived a month later, however, with Shaqiri agreeing to personal terms and undergoing medicals. Everton had also expressed interest in him but only wanted a loan deal, while Inter preferred a permanent move. On 11 August, Shaqiri completed his move to Stoke for a club-record fee of £12 million (€14.5 million), on a five-year deal.

He made his debut eleven days later in a 1–1 draw with Norwich City at Carrow Road, assisting Mame Biram Diouf’s headed goal with a free kick. On 28 December, Shaqiri recorded his first goals for Stoke, a first-half brace in a 4–3 win at Everton. The second of these two goals was a half-volley over Tim Howard, from Bojan’s pass. His only other goal in 2015–16 was a 20-yard strike against Newcastle United on 2 March 2016. In total Shaqiri played 32 times for Stoke in 2015–16 as the side finished in ninth position.

Shaqiri scored a 20-yard free kick against Middlesbrough on the opening day of the 2016–17 season. However a calf injury ruled him out for the next six weeks, returning to the side on 24 September 2016 against West Bromwich Albion where he provided the assist for Joe Allen in a 1–1 draw. Shaqiri scored two long-range goals against Hull City on 22 October 2016, becoming the first Stoke player to do so in a Premier League game. He scored another long range strike also against Hull on 15 April 2017 which was named as Stoke’s goal of the season. Shaqiri made 22 appearances in 2016–17, as Stoke finished in 13th position.

Shaqiri scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season in the match against Newcastle United, on 16 September, scoring the equalising goal in an eventual 1–2 defeat. On 4 November, he scored in a 2–2 draw against Leicester City. On 25 November, he scored in a 1–2 defeat to Crystal Palace. On 2 December, he scored in a 2–1 win over Swansea City. On 3 February 2018, he scored the opening goal in a 1–2 defeat to AFC Bournemouth. A week later, on 10 February, he scored in a 1–1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion. On 24 February, Shaqiri scored for a third consecutive game in a 1–1 draw against Leicester City. In March 2018, with Stoke battling against relegation, Shaqiri courted controversy with an interview for Swiss magazine Schweizer Illustrierte in which he said there was a “lack of quality” in his Stoke teammates and that even the presence of Ronaldinho would not improve the team. On 5 May, Shaqiri scored in a 1–2 defeat to Crystal Palace, as Stoke were relegated to the Championship. He played 38 times for the club in the season and finished as top goalscorer for the club with 8 goals, also providing 7 assists.

On 13 July 2018, Liverpool signed Shaqiri on a five-year deal after triggering his £13.5 million release clause. On his debut on 12 August, in the opening match of the season against West Ham United, he came on as a late substitute in a 4–0 win. He made his first full start on 22 September, in a 3–0 win over Southampton, and received praise for his performance which earned him the BBC Sport man of the match award.

In 2018, Shaqiri was the most Googled personality in Switzerland.

On 1 June 2019, Shaqiri picked up his second Champions League winner’s medal, despite not playing in the final against Tottenham Hotspur, which Liverpool won 2–0, but having played a key role in the semi-final against Barcelona. He later said he wanted to stay at Anfield. On 14 August, Shaqiri picked up his second trophy with the club, winning the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea on penalties after a 2–2 regular finish. On 4 December, following a prolonged injury, Shaqiri scored his first goal of the 2019–20 season in the derby against Everton, slotting home Liverpool’s second in a 5–2 win. In December, he was part of the squad that won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, following a 1–0 victory over Flamengo in the final. In June 2020, Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions, and Shaqiri received a medal as he made the minimal number of appearances for one.

Shaqiri’s first goal of the 2020–21 season, and first goal for the club in over nine months, came on 24 September 2020, when he scored the opening goal in a 7–2 routing of Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup.