India's football captain Sunil Chhetri stunned country's sporting fraternity on Thursday (May 16) morning announcing retirement from international arena. He has confirmed that India's FIFA World Cup Qualifier game against Kuwait on June 6 in Kolkata will be the last of his storied international career. He has scored 94 goals for India in 150 appearances at the international level after making his debut in 2005.
The man has also played for a lot of clubs in his career and has scored as many as 158 goals in 365 matches and he is expected to continue featuring at this level in the upcoming years as well. Coming back to his contribution to Indian football, Sunil Chhetri is the third highest goal-scorer among active players in international football only behind legendary players like Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina. Let us know in detail about the goals scored by him for his clubs and country:
Sunil Chhetri's goals for India
Sunil Chhetri's first goal for the Indian football national team came against Pakistan. Six years later, during the ninth edition of the SAFF Championship in New Delhi, he went past the Indian legend IM Vijayan's all-time record of scoring most goals in the tournament. Chhetri scored seven goals in India's title win while Vijayan's record was of six goals. At the same time, during the same competition, he also became India's highest goal-scorer, also overtaking Vijayan. During his glorius career, the 39-year-old scored most goals in the SAFF Championship.
Sunil Chhetri's goals in international football - by competition
| Competition |
Matches |
Goals |
| SAFF Championship |
27 |
23 |
| FIFA World Cup Qualifiers |
23 |
10 |
| Nehru Cup |
14 |
9 |
| AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers |
12 |
8 |
| AFC Challenge Cup |
8 |
4 |
| Intercontinental Cup |
11 |
13 |
| AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers |
6 |
3 |
| AFC Asian Cup |
8 |
4 |
| King's Cup |
1 |
1 |
| Merdeka Cup |
1 |
1 |
| International Friendlies |
18 |
39 |
Even FIFA acknowledged Sunil Chhetri's achievements for India on the field. The governing body released a documentary back in 2022 with the title 'Captain Fantastic' that highlighted the India captain's rise ever since making his debut 19 years ago.
Sunil Chhetri's Club Goals
| Club (Year) |
Matches |
Goals |
| Mohun Bagan (2002–2005) |
18 |
8 |
| JCT (2005–2008) |
48 |
22 |
| East Bengal (2008–2009) |
17 |
9 |
| Dempo (2009–2010) |
13 |
8 |
| Kansas City Wizards (2010) |
1 |
0 |
| Chirag United (2011) |
7 |
7 |
| Mohun Bagan (2011–2012) |
14 |
8 |
| Sporting CP B Team (2012–2013) |
3 |
0 |
| *Churchill Brothers (2013) |
8 |
4 |
| Bengaluru FC (2013–2015) |
43 |
16 |
| Mumbai City (2015–2016) |
17 |
7 |
| *Bengaluru FC (2016) |
14 |
5 |
| Bengaluru FC (2016–present) |
161 |
64 |
