Chhetri is now at Bengaluru FC, where he has appeared in 43 games and scored 14 goals. He made his national team debut against Pakistan on June 12, 2005. On December 4, 2017, Chhetri married his longtime girlfriend Sonam Bhattacharya.
Sunil Chhetri has a number of intriguing and little-known facts:
Sunil Chhetri was born in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, on August 3, 1984, to Nepalese-origin footballer parents (now Telangana). He attended Gangtok’s Bahai School, Darjeeling’s Bethany’s School, Kolkata’s Loyola School, and New Delhi’s Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan. Chhetri studied in Ashutosh College in Kolkata but left out after being chosen to represent India in the Asian School Championships while in Class 12.
He has so far played for eleven different clubs, the first of which was Delhi-based City Club, which he joined when he was 17 years old. He has also played in the Santosh Trophy for Delhi. He began his career with the Mohun Bagan AC, where he was a consistent goal scorer.
JCT FC signed him in 2005, and he quickly established himself as a good player. In the inaugural edition of the I-League, he scored seven goals to help his side finish third. East Bengal FC signed Chhetri in 2008, and he scored in his first match for the club against Chirag United in September of that year. He appeared in 14 games for the club and scored nine goals.
At JCT, he had a number of notable performances, including one against Brazilian team Sao Paulo in the 2007 Super Soccer Series. But it was his performance in the 2006-07 National Football League (NFL) season that stands out, as he scored 12 goals and was named NFL Player of the Year after leading JCT to a runner-up finish.
Chhetri won the AIFF Player of the Year award in 2007, a year in which he also assisted Bob Houghton’s Indian national squad in winning the Nehru Cup. It was his first time on the national team, and he was ecstatic.
In 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2014, Chhetri won the coveted All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year award four times.
Sunil Chettri owns the international record for the most goals scored. Chhetri has scored 56 goals for the Indian national team since 2005.