Sunil Chhetri Announces Retirement from International Football

The legendary Sunil Chhetri marked the end of a career that is unmatched in Indian football for its duration and consistency on Thursday by announcing his decision to retire from international football following the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Kuwait on June 6.

The veteran captain of the national team made his announcement in a video that he shared on social media.

Since making his debut in 2005, Chhetri has netted 94 goals for his nation. As the all-time leading scorer and most-capped player in Indian history, he will depart the game.

Along with being the third-highest goal scorer among active players (after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo), he is now ranked fourth among all-time international goal scorers.

After providing exemplary service for almost two decades, or 19 years to be exact, to a team that greatly depended on the 5'7" forward to produce every time he put on the blue jersey, Chhetri, 39, will retire into the international sunset.

As he made his announcement, Chhetri declared, "The match against Kuwait is the last."

The Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata will host Chhetri's farewell game. It is fitting that he will conclude his career in a city where he has spent a significant amount of time playing football and developing into a formidable striker.

India is currently trailing leaders Qatar by four points in Group A.

I'd like to say something... pic.twitter.com/xwXbDi95WV — Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) May 16, 2024

In March, Chhetri made his 150th appearance for his country and scored in a match against Afghanistan at Guwahati. However, India unexpectedly lost that match 1-2.

Chhetri, who would go on to become one of the game's most devastating strikers, scored on his international debut against Pakistan back in 2005, and he considered it his best moment.

"I always go back to the day I played for my country man for the first time; it was an incredible experience that I will never forget.

However, my first national team coach, Sukhi sir (Sukhwinder Singh), approached me early the day before and asked, "Are you going to start? Chhetri recalls, "I can't tell you how I was feeling, man."

He went on, "I don't know why, but I took my jersey and sprayed it with perfume." Thus, everything that transpired on that day—from breakfast to lunch to the match to my first goal on my debut to conceding late in the eighty-minute mark—is likely something I will never forget and ranks among the greatest days of my time with the national team." Regarding Indian football's future, Chettri stated that it was time for the nation to identify the next nine players. Since none of the current group of players plays as the primary striker for their individual clubs, he believed that the team is now at a disadvantage and saw a huge gap in the current national team.

Chhetri claimed that lately he has felt as though his magnificent adventure was coming to an end.

"You know, the sentiment I remember from the past 19 years is a really pleasant blend of obligation, stress, and extreme happiness. I never considered myself, but now that I've done it, I can say that these are the numerous games I've played for my nation, regardless of how good or horrible it was.

"I did it for the past 1.5–2 months, and it was really weird. I probably did it because I was leaning toward the conclusion that this game and the one after it would be my last." Memories flooded back into his head the instant he made the decision.

"And that's when I started remembering everything—that is, when I realized that, yes, this game would be my last.

This game, that game, this coach, that coach, that team, that member, that ground, that away match, this good game, that poor game, all of my individual performances—it was all really unusual. I began to think about all of those things. I therefore made the decision that this would be my final game." His significant decision was received differently by his family members.

"I told my mom, my dad and my wife, my family first, my dad was...he was normal, he was relieved, happy, everything, but my mom and my wife started crying," he stated.

"They were unable to explain to me why they started crying. I gave it a lot of thought when the notion struck that this should be my final game. It wasn't because I was feeling worn out or that I was experiencing any of these emotions." Among his many notable achievements were his assistance in India's victories in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship (2011, 2015, 2021) and the Nehru Cup (2007, 2009, 2012).

In addition, he contributed to India's victory in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which allowed them to go to the AFC Asian Cup (2011) for the first time in 27 years.

The football player, who was born in Secunderabad, started his club career with Mohun Bagan in 2002. He then played for the Sporting CP reserve squad in the Portuguese football division in 2012 and the Kansas City Wizards of Major division Soccer in the United States in 2010.

The seven-time AIFF Player of the Year winner has also played for prominent Indian teams, including Bengaluru FC and Mumbai City FC of the Indian Super League, as well as East Bengal (2008–2009) and Dempo (2009–2010).

He has experienced the most success in club football with Bengaluru FC, where he has taken home significant titles including the Super Cup (2018), I-League (2014 and 2016), and ISL (2019). In 2016, he also guided Bengaluru FC to the AFC Cup final.

Prior to his 150th appearance for the Blue Tigers in the Guwahati World Cup qualifier against Afghanistan, Chhetri received congratulations.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.