"If I had listened to people, would've been done by 29" - Sunil Chhetri on whether criticisms influenced his retirement decision
For a man who rewrote the history of Indian football, pumped 94 record-breaking goals over his 150 appearances, and earned an endless list of accolades, one would feel he had earned his right to bid farewell on his terms. But the footballing landscape is often unforgiving, filled with unsolicited opinions, and criticisms were thrown at Sunil Chhetri throughout his career for overstaying his welcome at the national team.
Right at the end of his retirement announcement video, which was posted through his social media channels on Thursday, the 39-year-old quipped, "The ones who were thinking that I should retire, I hope it makes you happy." It felt like a cheeky nod to all the detractors and their ramblings.
But quizzed by Sportskeeda on Friday, during a press conference hosted by the AIFF, Chhetri revealed:
"That [the critics] was a very small number. When I said the ones who wanted me to retire, the majority of them were well-wishers. It was not only for a few numbers who thought that I overstayed or should have retired early but for the majority of people who genuinely wanted good for me and wanted me to retire too. And honestly, no matter what category you are in, the onus is not on you. That was just a nice, big 'I hope everyone is happy'. The decision was all mine. For the reasons that only I know."
The talismanic striker elucidated that if he had paid heed to the ample criticisms floating around, he would've hung up his boot at 29.
"I think when I signed for Bengaluru FC at 29 since then I've heard that 'He's done and he should finish'. So if I had to hear people I would have been done at age 29 or 30. Or when I heard again at 31, at 32 people were quiet, then again they started at 33. When 34, they were always shouting he should retire, at 35 they were a little calmer. It went on. So it wasn't people; I don't take the adulation and the criticism too much into my head when it comes to making decisions."
"A lot of people talk with a lot of emotions. And I understand that I'm also a fan of sports. When you watch sports, you're always emotional and you say things, but my decision was entirely because of what I thought. That was just to make everyone happy," Chhetri added.
"It was 10 or 15 days after the Afghanistan game" - Sunil Chhetri on when he started thinking about retiring from the national team
But why now? Why call it quits even though he is boosting envious numbers for the Blue Tigers? The national team skipper explained in great detail that his intention right from the very beginning was to add value to the Blue Tigers, and the day he felt he wasn't he would walk away.
"It was 10 or 15 days after the Afghanistan game [in the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers]. I don't know the exact date but that's the time when I started thinking, after having the instinct of course, how I felt physically. What are our next goals? What is going to happen to the national team? What are the matches? How does it look? All these things were taken together and then I came to the decision," he explained.
"One other thing that internally I always had, only a few of you would understand, is it is of prime importance to me that I bring value to the team. Sometimes it might happen because of who I've become that I'm still carried by the team. And that is something that I never wanted. The way you gaze at it is in training. In terms of numbers our GPS numbers, or what I bring to the table. It doesn't matter how many years or how many games I played but till the time I'm here I add some value."
But the Arjuna Award winner ensured to hammer home the fact that his decision wasn't influenced by his diminishing physicality due to age. Without elaborating on the subject, he maintained that the mental aspect was what became increasingly difficult.
"The retirement decision was not because of the physical aspect, I am still fit, running, chasing, defending, the hard work is not difficult, the difficult part is the mental aspect."
"A very good-looking and hardworking player" - Sunil Chhetri lays down the legacy he wants to leave behind
Beyond the numbers, beyond the unprecedented achievements, beyond the silverware, what legacy does Sunil Chhetri want to leave behind for the younger generations to remember him by?
He quipped:
"A very good-looking and hardworking player."
But he stressed the latter part with all seriousness and underlined for anyone who wants to emulate his success, hard work isn't to be compromised with.
"The one legacy or one thought that the footballers who come after me should remember me by is that he was a hardworking person, and it pays off. 150 games for the country, because of the hard work. A lot of other attributes are important for a player but if there's one thing that I want to leave behind is that you got work really hard."
You can't factory-build another Sunil Chhetri, otherwise, the Indians would've been at it for a decade. The Secunderabad-born credited his family, his 'extraordinary' wife, some friends, the teams, and the coaches for block by block building the enigma of Sunil Chhetri.
"If you want the recipe - we talked about hard work, having the genes of Mr. KB Chhetri and Sushila Chhetri helps; having an outstanding team and outstanding people around you helps."