Indian football captain and legend Sunil Chhetri took to social media on Thursday, May 16, to announce his decision to retire from international football.
Chhetri stated that the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification match against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata is set to be his final appearance for the national team, after which he will stop representing the Blue Tigers.
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It is indeed going to be an emotional moment for both Chhetri and the Indian football fans as the 39-year-old will finish his 19-year-old international career as the greatest Indian footballer of all-time, and by some distance.
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'Not that I was feeling tired' - Sunil Chhetri explains decision to reitre from international duty
Chhetri took to his social media accounts on Thursday and explained why he decided to retire from international football, reminiscing his initial days as a young prodigy.
There is one day that I never forget and remember it quite often is the first time I played for my country man, it was unbelievable. But the day before, morning of the day, Sukhi sir, my first national team coach, in the morning he came to me and he’s like, you’re going to start? I can’t tell you how I was feeling man. I took my jersey, I sprayed some perfume on it, I have no idea why.
So that day, everything that happened, once he told me, from breakfast to lunch and to the game and to my first goal in my debut, to conceding late 80th minute, that day is probably that I will never forget and is one of the best days of my national team journey.
You know the feeling that I recollect in the last 19 years is a very nice combination between duty pressure and immense joy. I never thought individually, these are the many games that I’ve played for the country, this is what I’ve done, good or bad, but now I did it. This last one and a half, two months, I did it and it was very strange. I did it because probably I was going towards the decision that this game, this next game is going to be my last.
The Bengaluru FC forward also recalled the moment he told himself that it was time for him to call it a day.
"And the moment I told myself first, that yes, this is the game that is going to be my last, is when I started recollecting everything," he added.
"It was so strange, I started thinking about this game, that game, this coach, that coach, that team, that member, that ground, that away match, this good game, that bad game, all my individual performances, everything came, all the flashes came. So when I did decide that this is it, this is going to be my last game.
I'd like to say something... pic.twitter.com/xwXbDi95WV
— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) May 16, 2024
"I told my mom, my dad and my wife, my family first, my dad was, my dad was my dad, he was normal, he was relieved, happy, everything, but my mom and my wife straightly started crying and I told them, you always used to bug me that there are too many games, there is too much of pressure when you watch me and now that I’m telling you that, you know, I’m not going to play for my country anymore after this game.
"And even they couldn’t, they couldn’t express to me as to why they, they burst into tears. It’s not that I was feeling tired, it’s not that I was feeling this or that, when the instinct came that this should be my last game, then I thought about it a lot."
How many goals did Sunil Chhetri score for India?
Chhetri is currently the third-highest active goalscorer in the world behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi.
He currently has 150 caps, scoring 94 goals, both of which are records for India in football. However, it's unlikely that we will see him reach a century of international goals.
