JAKARTA - On Sunday, India striker Sunil Chhetri (37) made history by equaling Pele's international goals tally. He is only behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of active international goalscorers.
Chhetri's winning goal against Nepal was his 77th goal for India. This puts him level with Pele in the list of all-time goalscorers and UAE's Ali Mabkhout on the list of active players. Ahead of Chhetri and Mabkhout are Messi (80) and Ronaldo (115).
A little bit of Sunil Chhetri to brighten up your day. Bengaluru fans will never tire of this semi-final double from the Indian icon in 2016. #AFCCup | #WaybackWednesday pic.twitter.com/zwhUZiccW1
— #AFCCup2021 (@AFCCup) October 6, 2021
Messi recently became South America's all-time international top scorer after scoring against Uruguay in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. However, Chhetri is only three goals behind La Pulga and it is not impossible to overtake the Argentina captain.
However, Chhetri will work very hard to become the AFC's all-time top scorer. Yes, he must surpass the number of 109 goals belonging to the Iranian legend, Ali Daei.
The former Bayern Munich striker himself is now second in the list of the world's all-time top goalscorers after he surpassed Ronaldo with 115 goals.
Chhetri, who currently plays for Bengaluru in the Indian Super League, spent most of his career in his home country. He had a brief career at the Kansas City Wizards with one appearance and then on the B team of Portuguese club Sporting CP.
The 37-year-old is the record holder for India's top goalscorer at international level. His closest competitor's tally is more than half of Chhetri's tally.
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