Indian football icon and captain of the national team, Sunil Chhetri, has announced his decision to retire from international football on June 6.
In a video posted on X, he said that India's World Cup qualification match against Kuwait would be his last game. "One last game... for all our sakes...let's win the game and we can depart, happily," he said in the video.
Chhetri, 39, has played for the country for 19 years, having scored his first goal during his debut match in 2005. He is among India's most celebrated players, credited with shining a spotlight on Indian football nationally and internationally, amidst a cricket-centric culture.
At the moment, he holds the record of being the third-highest scorer of international goals among active footballers, after Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the nine-minute-51-second-long video post on X, Chhetri reminisced about the high and low points in his long career and expressed grief over his decision. "The kid inside will probably keep fighting to play football, but the sensible, mature player and person knows that this is it," he said. "But it wasn't easy," he added. Tributes have been pouring in on X, with many fans expressing their gratitude for his contribution to Indian football.
In India, he has won several football awards, including the Arjuna Award - the country's second-highest sporting award - and the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award. On the global stage, he has led the team to victory in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup, the South Asian Football Federation Championship, the Intercontinental Cup and more.
