Sunil Chhetri surpassed Lionel Messi’s international goal tally as the Indian skipper contributed with a brace to help India beat Bangladesh in FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers yesterday. Chettri, who is on a tally of 74 international goals, is two ahead of Lionel Messi and is the second highest international goal scorer among currently active footballers.
But, is the Indian talisman better than the Argentine superstar? The answer would be a big “NO”. In fact Chettri is no where Messi in terms of skills and abilities. Messi has been one of the best footballer to have ever played the beautiful game of football and comparing him to Chhetri, who has almost played all his games against lower ranked teams in his career, would be a disgrace to the Messi’s legacy.
The Barcelona star has had a successful season in club football with 30 goals and 9 assists and he would be eyeing for Copa America title that is going to start from June 14. Messi has won 6 Ballon d’or( the most by any footballer) which is one of the most prestigious award in world football.
Still we can’t deny the fact that Chhetri has been the best Indian player till date. The 36-year old striker is 11th in men’s all time international goal scorers. Chhetri is a gem of Indian football and what he has done in his career is really commendable.