9 Things You Didn’t Know About Sunil Chhetri

Sunil Chhetri, the football legend of India, is the country’s record goal scorer. He is known for his leadership skills, work ethic, and scoring abilities, and he motivated a new crop of Indian football supporters.

1. Sunil Chhetri Records/Stats

He’s got more international goals than Lewandowski, Drogba, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic—and he’s just one goal shy of matching legendary Brazilian Pelé. He may not be Messi or Ronaldo, but his statistics certainly resemble theirs.

Sunil is not only India’s most capped player with 118 appearances, but he’s also scored more goals for India than any other player. He’s bagged 74 goals for his national team, which makes him the fourth-highest international goal scorer among active players. The only players ahead of him are Ali Mabkhout of the United Arab Emirates, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

These goals also place him tenth on the all-time men’s international goal scorers list. He’s scored more hat-tricks than any other Indian player and won the AIFF Player of the Year award a record six times. He’s also the first and only Indian player to play on three continents—more on that later.

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2. Sunil Chhetri Net Worth

It wasn’t easy for him. According to the Indian press, Sunil’s current contract with Bengaluru FC bags him more than $200,000 a season, making him the country’s highest-paid footballer. However, while he may have a full wallet now, when he was a child, he used to steal money from his parents.

Before he ever kicked a football, Sunil wanted to play cricket like his idol, Sachin Tendulkar, but he couldn’t afford a kit with his name on it. “So I used to steal money from my mom out of desperation. My father used to cycle to the bus stop, and he used to give me the exact change—that was a cheat. I sometimes used to keep the money in my pocket and not buy tickets.”

Eventually, his parents found out. They were furious. “My mom held me and said, ‘I’m so sorry that we can’t fulfill your needs, that we’re making a thief out of our son.’ It shook me. I realized that I cannot act like a mischievous, stupid kid.”

So, he gave up his more expensive cricket dreams and took up football instead.

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3. Sunil Chhetri Idols and Inspiration

For someone who’s scored as many goals as Sunil, his footballing idols should come as no surprise. He loved I. M. Vijayan, who captained the Indian national team and scored more than 170 career goals, and the Indian Maradona, Krishanu Dey. After that, it was Bhaichung Bhutia in India and the Brazilian Ronaldo abroad.

Sunil takes after his idols, having scored more goals than all of them. Bhaichung Bhutia comes second behind Sunil in almost every Indian category—except one. Bhutia made at least one appearance for India for 17 straight years between 1995 and 2011.

Sunil’s only achieved 16 straight years with an appearance for India. But there’s a catch—the coronavirus pandemic forced India to cancel their only game in 2020. So, he has to wait one more year to match Bhutia’s record—and one more after that to break it. But he’s already 37. Can he do it?

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4. Sunil Chhetri Very Close to Play For Manchester United

Sunil nearly signed for the Red Devils, but it’s the exact opposite. In 2010, Sunil signed for MLS side Sporting Kansas City, making him the first Indian player in MLS history.

“I played six to seven friendly games, scored two hat-tricks and a brace. Then I had a lovely preseason where I scored 14 goals in seven games, and I thought I’m gonna start.”

But despite his early promise, he failed to make an impact in the league. His only official appearance came in the U.S. Open Cup—he played 45 minutes, got booked, and was yanked at halftime.

“It’s fitness more than anything else, which is a difficult thing for most guys coming to our league from overseas. He wasn’t ready for the speed and pace of our game.”

That’s why fans were surprised when the club announced that he’d be playing against Manchester United in a friendly. He played 21 minutes in a surprise 2-1 win and failed to make an impression—but he did become only the second-ever Indian player to play against the Red Devils, behind only—you guessed it—Bhaichung Bhutia.

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5. Sunil Chhetri Plays for the U.S.A

Sunil may not have ever been close to playing with United, but he nearly did play in England. Before he ever came to America, he had been scouted by Celtic, Leeds, and even D.C. United had official trials with Coventry, Rangers, and QPR. He officially signed with the London club in 2009.

So what happened? “Everything was done. We signed the deal. But the FA didn’t allow me because my country didn’t qualify in the first 70 of the FIFA rankings.”

“It was a big setback because my main objective was to go and see exactly where I stood.”

Had it worked, he could have won promotion to the Prem with them in 2011 or witnessed Aguero’s title-winning goal in 2012 firsthand. But instead, he returned to India and signed for Kansas City just one year later.

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6. Sunil Chhetri’s Diet Plan

Sunil is still going strong at 37 years of age, thanks in part to his dedication to his diet and fitness regimen. Towards the beginning of his career, he was very loose with what he ate, but everything changed when he signed for Sporting Lisbon in 2012.

“When I went to Sporting Lisbon, I saw that it’s common in Europe—the caution about what they eat. It was there that I became stricter.”

These days, he’s gone completely vegan—just like Bayern’s Gnabry and Aguero—and has cut out sweets and sugar almost entirely, like Cristiano.

“It’s been over one and a half years. I have indulged on two momentous occasions. In fact, there have been occasions when people put a slice of cake in my mouth—I never swallowed it but went to the washroom to rinse it out.”

Wow. He does sound like Ronaldo there.

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7. Sunil Chhetri: Nepal Connection

Despite his incredible goal-scoring exploits for India, Sunil could have represented Nepal instead. That’s because his father is Indian of Nepalese descent, while both his mother and her twin sister played football for the Nepal national team.

But the truth is, he never really considered representing Nepal on the international stage. “I will admit that I have a soft spot for Nepal. But it ends the moment I step on the pitch. My mom is from Nepal, and whatever sporting culture and discipline has been inculcated is all because of her.”

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8. Sunil Chhetri School

Every young football fan has dreams of becoming a superstar one day, but not Sunil.

“I never thought I would make it big. Football was going to help me get into a good college. That’s why I played when I started. Then it sort of got out of hand. But I’m not complaining.”

That’s exactly what happened. After graduating from school, he was accepted into Ashutosh College. But before he went, he played in a youth football tournament.

“Mohan Bagan—one of the major clubs in our country—saw me and signed me. I never knew how much you could earn and what kind of career you could have from football. Once I joined Mohan Bagan, I never looked back.”

So, he never got that college degree, but he’s had a wonderful career.

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9. Sunil Chhetri: Indian Football Team Captain

Oh My Goalers, we’ve told you almost everything there is to know about Indian legend Sunil Chhetri, but now it’s time for a quick bonus round.

We could have told you about his nickname, “Captain Fantastic,” or about how he signed a lucrative three-year contract with Puma in 2020. But instead, we want to end on this note.

In 2018, Sunil scored a hat-trick against Chinese Taipei in the opening match of the Intercontinental Cup. The only problem? Almost no one was there to see it—barely 2,000 fans watched from inside the stadium.

So, he took to social media to beg for fan support: “To all of you who are fans but could not come, did not come—please come and watch us in the stadiums. You guys have no idea how important you guys are and how important your support is.”

The next match was played in front of a sold-out crowd, proving that he is India’s Captain Fantastic.

Sunil Chhetri has retired from international football

He announced his retirement from international football on June 6, 2024, following India’s match with Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup Qualifier.

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