Sunil Chhetri: Third Highest Goal Scorer Among Active Players In The World

In an era of dominance at the club football level, scoring goals at the international stage, wearing the national colours is still an experience every footballer dreams of. With 128 goals in 205 matches, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most goals in international football among active players. Ronaldo has 10 hat-tricks to his name and has been scoring goals regularly since making his debut for Portugal in 2003. Ronaldo's fellow competitor and modern-day legend Lionel Messi (106 goals) is third in the all-time top international goal scorers' list and the second-highest active goal scorer. Interestingly, you can't skip the name of Indian Football captain Sunil Chhetri. "Skip" Chhetri, who has been the best football player in India for over 20 years, is fourth overall and third-highest active goal scorer. In this blog, we take a look at how Sunil Chhetri has played a major role in Indian football history in the last decade, becoming the third-highest goal scorer among active players in the world.

Sunil Chhetri: Third highest goal scorer among active players in the world

Indian Football captain Sunil Chhetri surpassed Lionel Messi in 2019 to become the second-highest active international goal scorer, behind Cristiano Ronaldo. With 94 goals to his name in 150 international appearances, Sunil Chhetri is currently the third-highest goalscorer among active players in international matches, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are also part of the top 7 best football players in 2024. The Indian captain is part of the unique record of players to score the highest goals in football. Ali Dae’s tally of 108 goals is well within reach. It is for sure that the Football world will get to read more about top Sunil Chhetri goals by the end of his legendary career. Sunil Chhetri needs 6 goals to reach the 100-goal mark. He is the highest goal scorer by an Indian and has been part of some of the best India Football moments in his 19-year career.

Top 10 International Goal Scorers In Football

Sunil Chettri has made 150 international appearances for the Blue Tigers so far and is India's most-capped player. He made his international debut for India against Pakistan in 2005 and scored a goal in his first match. In 2019, Sunil Chhetri achieved a massive feat by becoming only the second Indian player in history to play 100 international matches after the 'torchbearer of Indian Football' Bhaichung Bhutia. In a career over two decades, the centre-forward has won many individual awards and led India to many victories. Chhetri has been playing for the Blue Tigers for 18 years. The 'captain fantastic' has been the backbone for India to give a solid start at the top with his goal-scoring ability. 'Skip' Sunil Chhetri remains one of the top Indian players in Football news, even though India has not been performing that well recently.

India's most destructive goalscorer Sunil Chhetri has scored the most hat-tricks for the Indian Football team. Chhetri leads the tally with 4 hat-tricks. Sunil Chhetri has scored 158 goals in 365 appearances in his career at the club level and is the top Indian goalscorer in the ISL. With 94 goals in 150 international appearances, Sunil Chhetri is currently the third-highest goalscorer among active international players. Overall, Sunil Chhetri has already scored 252 goals in 515 appearances. The Indian captain recently showcased his exceptional skills by scoring a remarkable hat-trick against Pakistan in the SAFF Championship 2023. With Chhetri getting better with age, it is only a matter of time before he scores more hat-tricks and even goes on to score 100 goals. The moment will be a perfect end to his career and will be right there when it comes to Sunil Chhetri football records.

The India Football captain Sunil Chhetri was one of the individuals to receive the prestigious Khel Ratna award from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Chhetri was awarded for his consistent performances for India from 2017-21, helping them win many games and adding to his goal tally. Sunil Chhetri remains the only footballer to be honoured with the Khel Ratna award since it started in 1991. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna is the country's highest sporting honour. It is awarded to sportspersons who have displayed "spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years" at the international level. Sunil Chhetri is currently the third-highest active goalscorer in International football, along with two of the best Football World Cup players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.