NEW DELHI, June 16: Talismanic Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri has become the fourth highest international goal scorer among active players worldwide with his 54th strike for the country against Kyrgyzstan.
The magnificent goal he scored against Kyrgyzstan in India�s 1-0 win in the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers match in Bengaluru on June 13 has taken him past England striker Wayne Rooney (53 goals in 119 matches). Chhetri was playing in his 94th match.
Chhetri, who turns 33 on August 3, is currently behind Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (73 in 139 matches), Argentine maestro Lionel Messi (58 in 118 matches) and American Clint Dempsey (56 in 134 matches).
Chhetri�s strike rate is better than Ronaldo, Messi, Dempsey and Rooney. He has a goal per match ratio of 0.57 as against 0.525 of Ronaldo, 0.49 of Messi, 0.42 of Dempsey and 0.45 of Rooney. Only Brazilian superstar Neymar Junior (0.68), Ali Ashfaq (0.68) of Maldives and Edin Dzeko (0.63) of Bosnia have a better strike rate then Chhetri.
Remarkably, Chhetri is also in the top-30 of the all time goal scorers� chart (taking into account both retired and active players) and is certain to be among the top-20 when he decides to call it a day. � PTI
