Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri has dropped a massive retirement news. Chhetri said that he could retire from the sport if Bengaluru FC fails to win the ISL 2025-2026 and qualify for the continental competition.
Speaking to The Times of India, Chhetri revealed he wants to score 15 goals in the season and retire. The veteran has also informed coach about his decision.
“If we win the ISL, it will give me a chance to wear national (winning) club colours and play in international competitions again. At 42, it’s not easy. I want to score 15 goals this season and retire,” Chhetri told TOI in an exclusive video call on Thursday.
Chhetri, one of the greatest footballers to play for India, retired last year in June, but he made a comeback to professional football this year at the request of former India coach Manolo Marquez. With India out of the Asian Cup 2027 final round qualifiers, Chhetri informed manager Khalid Jamil that his career as an international footballer has come to an end.
“It was easy telling (coach) Khalid (Jamil) sir about my decision,” Chhetri said. “When I joined the national team, my only goal was to help as much as possible in the qualifiers.”
“There was nothing else. If there were no qualifiers, I probably wouldn’t have come back. Once it was clear we couldn’t qualify, I was happy to tell the coach and he understood.”
Sunil Chhetri Has No Regrets
Manolo wanted Chhetri to come back given his stellar ISL form where he scored 14 goals, only second to golden boot winner Alaaeddine Ajaraie. Chhetri initially refused politely, but the coach insisted, and Chhetri said yes because of the Asian qualifiers. The return, however, wasn’t great as India, the highest-ranked team in the final round, remained winless after four games and were out of contention.
Chhetri could only score one goal in six games – taking his tally of goals to 95, fourth highest in men’s football after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, among active players. Chhetri said he does not have any regrets about his decision to make a comeback to international football.
“When I chose to come back, I knew this was a possibility because I’ve played long enough,” he said. “For me, there are no regrets. The regret is that we did not qualify. I gave my best in those four games.”
“I am really grateful to the whole national camp,” he added. “It felt like returning to family. I received so much respect. I am just a little bitter because we should have qualified. We did not perform the way we could have, and that’s why we are where we are.”