Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri is in elite company. Of those still playing, only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, with 128 and 106 respectively, have scored more international goals than him.
But the 39-year-old striker, who has 94 goals, said last week that, after 150 games for India, the June 6 World Cup qualifier against Kuwait in Kolkata will be his last before retiring, reported NDTV.
“It’s not that I was feeling tired,” said Chhetri, who had a short spell in the United States with the Major League Soccer Kansas City Wizards in 2010.
“When the instinct came that this should be my last game, I thought about it a lot and eventually I came to this decision.”
He added: “The feel that I recollect in the last 19 years is a very nice combination of duty, pressure and immense joy.
“Every training that I do with the national team, I just want to enjoy. The game against Kuwait demands pressure, we need the three points to qualify for the next round. It’s hugely important for us. But in a strange way, I don’t feel the pressure because these 15-20 days with the national team and the match against Kuwait is the last.
“The retirement decision was not because of physical aspect, I am still fit, running, chasing, defending; the hard work is not difficult, the reason is to do with mental aspect.
“I was fighting with myself, trying to think holistically, it came instinctively. One year I will be in Bengaluru FC, I don’t know how long I will be playing (domestic football), after that I want to take a sabbatical.
“Will I be sad after this? Of course... the kid inside me never wants to stop if given a chance to play for his country.”
When asked if he would consider coaching after his playing career, Chhetri said: “I will not say never, I will think during my sabbatical, but it’s not very high on my agenda as of now.”
His contract with the Indian Super League side is till next year.
Chhetri, who has won five domestic league championships, played his first game for India against Pakistan in 2005 and in the time since, his goals and leadership have helped the Blue Tigers become the dominant force in South Asia and a more visible presence at the continental level.
In 2010, he was named India’s captain. Under his captaincy, India won the 2012 Nehru Cup and four South Asian Football Federation Championships in 2011, 2015, 2021, and 2023.
Before his debut, India last appeared at the Asian Cup in 1984, but is now a regular participant after qualifying for the 2011, 2019 and 2023 tournaments.
Chhetri also helped the Indian national side make a rare appearance in the top 100 of FIFA’s rankings last July.
“It will take some time before we get to see another footballer like Sunil Chhetri in India,” said former Indian striker I.M. Vijayan, who is chairman of the All India Football Federation technical committee.
