Sunil Chhetri Career Goals: How many goals has the Indian football captain scored?
India’s most decorated footballer Sunil Chhetri bid adieu to International football after the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers game against Kuwait on June 6, Thursday. His career spanned over two decades as the center forward for the Indian national team, securing multiple records.
Notably, Chhetri found the net on 94 occasions in 151 international appearances. Remarkably, he is the fourth leading goal-scorer in international football, just behind legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei, and Lionel Messi.
Speaking about his club and international goals, Sunil Chhetri has scored a total of 252 overall goals in 516 appearances, which speaks about his consistency and goal-scoring prowess as an attacker.
Hailing from Secunderabad, Sunil Chhetri made his debut for Mohun Bagan in 2002 in the National Football League (2002-03) and went on to make his international debut against Pakistan in a friendly match in 2005, scoring his first international goal in the very first game.
Notably, Sunil Chhetri has created a plethora of records and bagged numerous awards in his cabinet. Remarkably, he won the AIFF Player of the Year award on seven occasions, the most by any Indian.
Sunil Chhetri represented major Indian clubs during his inspirational career
During his two-decade-long career, Chhetri represented major Indian clubs like East Bengal, Dempo, Indian Super League clubs Mumbai City FC, and Bengaluru FC.
It’s important to note that, Chhetri secured multiple major club titles with the Bengaluru-based club – I-League (2014 and 2016), ISL (2019), and Super Cup (2018). Furthermore, he also helped Bengaluru FC in winning the AFC Cup final in 2016.
Since making his international debut in 2005, Chhetri propelled Team India to Nehru Cup title wins in 2007, 2009, and 2012. He also led India to title victories at the SAFF Championships in 2011, 2015, and 2021.
Since scoring his first-ever professional goal at the senior level for Mohun Bagan in the 2002-03 season, the legendary Indian footballer Chhetri went on to create many goal-scoring records for both his clubs and the nation.
During the SAFF Championship tournament in 2011, Sunil Chhetri went past IM Vijayan (29) to emerge as the leading goal-scorer in Indian football.