Sunil Chhetri & Anirudh Thapa
Sunil Chhetri & Anirudh Thapa

Sunil Chhetri is the undisputed king of the Indian national team and he put another feather in his cap as he overtook Lionel Messi in the all-time goalscorers list in international games.

Chhetri scored a brace against Bangladesh earlier this month meaning he is now two goals clear of the Argentinian legend. But speaking about his national exploits, the Indian captain has refused to make too much of a fuss about the numbers.

“There’s a lot of talk, even in my family WhatsApp group, and I tell everyone the same thing. The truth is that there’s absolutely no comparison between me and him,” Chettri said in an official release by AIFF, as reported.

“Along with everyone else in the world, I am also a huge fan. There is no comparison whatsoever.

“As for the numbers, once I’d done playing, we’ll talk about them. We will take out one goal and we will talk about the anecdote. I mean, nobody in the country has played more games than me, that’s something nice. Nobody in the country has scored more than me, I feel honoured.

“These things are nice, and they motivate me, but I don’t think about them too often. Only once I’m done, and I’ve got a belly full of food, then we can talk about them.”

Sunil Chhetri has also admitted that he is a big fan of Lionel Messi and when he gets a chance to meet him in person, the Indian footballer has admitted he will be subtle.

 

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He said: “I’d say, ‘Hi, I’m Sunil Chhetri, and I’m a big fan’. And that’s about it. I will not trouble him. I’m a fan, but all the people I’m a fan of, I don’t trouble them much.

“If I meet him, I’ll be happy, if I don’t, I’m still good. When I’m sad, I watch Messi’s videos, and it makes me happy, so when I meet him, I’ll tell him I’m a fan, give him a nice handshake, and that’s about it.”

As per TransferMarkt, Sunil Chhetri made his national debut in 2005 and to date, he has played 112 games for the Blue Tigers. Next up, he will lead his side into their final World Cup Qualifier game vs Afghanistan on the 15th of June.

Read: Here’s how Indian Football has evolved in recent times.