The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from India

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This page contains a list of the greatest Indian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 3 of which were born in India. This makes India the birth place of the 133rd most number of Soccer Players behind Uganda, and Tajikistan.

Top 8

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Indian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Indian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Sunil Chhetri

1. Sunil Chhetri (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 45.75, Sunil Chhetri is the most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 52 different languages on wikipedia.

Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru. He is the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history. He is known for his link-up play, goal scoring abilities, and leadership. He is the fourth-highest international goalscorer, and is also the most-capped player and the all-time top goalscorer of the India national team. He is widely regarded as the greatest Indian football player of all time. Chhetri began his professional career at Mohun Bagan in 2002, moving to JCT where he scored 21 goals in 48 games. Sunil was part of Delhi team in the 59th edition of Santosh Trophy held at Delhi. He scored six goals in that tournament including a hat-trick against Gujarat. Delhi lost to Kerala in the quarter-finals and he scored in that match too. He signed for Major League Soccer side Kansas City Wizards in 2010, becoming the third player from the subcontinent of note to go abroad. He returned to India's I-League where he played for Chirag United and Mohun Bagan before going back abroad, at Sporting CP of the Primeira Liga, where he played for the club's reserve side. Chhetri helped India win the 2007, 2009, and 2012 Nehru Cup, as well as the 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2023 SAFF Championship. He also led India to victory in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which qualified them to their first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years, scoring twice in the final tournament in 2011. In 2016 Chethri led Bengaluru FC to a silver medal finish in the AFC Cup. Chhetri has also been named AIFF Player of the Year a record seven times in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018–19 and 2021–22. Chhetri received the Arjuna Award in 2011 for his outstanding sporting achievement, the Padma Shri award in 2019, India's fourth highest civilian award. In 2021, he received the Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honor and became the first footballer to receive the award. He announced his retirement from all forms of international football in June 2024, playing his last match for India against Kuwait. His goal tally also ranks him fourth in the all-time list among international goal-scorers, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei and Lionel Messi. FIFA took to their official handle on X, to post a picture of the three then active top scorers.

Photo of Harold Walden

2. Harold Walden (1887 - 1955)

With an HPI of 43.18, Harold Walden is the 2nd most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Harold Adrian Walden (10 October 1887 – 2 December 1955) was an English amateur footballer who played for several clubs, Halifax Town, Bradford City and Arsenal. Walden also played for Great Britain's football team, with which he won gold in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Bhaichung Bhutia

3. Bhaichung Bhutia (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 35.35, Bhaichung Bhutia is the 3rd most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often nicknamed the Sikkimese Sniper because of his shooting skills in football. Three-time Indian Player of the Year I. M. Vijayan described Bhutia as "God's gift to Indian football". Bhutia has had four spells at then I-League side East Bengal FC, the club where he started his career. When he joined English club Bury in 1999, he became the first Indian footballer to sign a contract with a European club and only the second to play professionally in Europe, after Mohammed Salim. Afterwards he had a short loan spell at the Malaysian football club Perak FA. He has also played for JCT Mills, which won the league once during his tenure; and Mohun Bagan, which failed to win the league once during his two spells, in his native India. His international footballing honours include winning the Nehru Cup, LG Cup, SAFF Championship three times and the AFC Challenge Cup. He is also India's second most capped player, with 80 international caps to his name. He is also India's second youngest international goal scorer after Jerry Zirsanga when he scored his first goal against Uzbekistan in 1995 Nehru cup at the age of 18 years 90 days. Off the field, Bhutia is known for winning the reality television programme Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which caused much controversy with his then-club Mohun Bagan, and for being the first Indian athlete to boycott the Olympic torch relay in support of the Tibetan independence movement. Bhutia, who has a football stadium named after him in honour of his contribution to Indian football (first player to have such honour while he is still playing), has also won many awards, such as the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri. In October 2010, he founded Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi in partnership with football by Carlos Queiroz and Nike. In August 2011, Bhutia announced his retirement from international football. His farewell match was with the India national team on 10 January 2012 against Bayern Munich at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi. Bhutia contested in the general election of All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the president post; lost 33–1 to Kalyan Chaubey. He also served as president of the Sikkim Football Association.

Photo of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

4. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 18.38, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is the 4th most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (born 3 February 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and captains the India national team. He is often considered as one of the top Indian goalkeepers. Sandhu was named captain of the India national team for the first time in friendly match against Puerto Rico on 3 September 2016, a match India won 4–1. He has achieved several distinctions: the inaugural Indian to play a competitive match for the first team of a top-division European club; fifth Indian to play professionally in Europe succeeding Mohammed Salim, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal; and the first Indian to play in the UEFA Europa League.

Photo of Jeje Lalpekhlua

5. Jeje Lalpekhlua (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 15.51, Jeje Lalpekhlua is the 5th most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai (born 7 January 1991), simply known as Jeje, is an Indian politician and former professional footballer who played as a striker. On 27 March 2023, he formally joined the Zoram People's Movement and won from the South Tuipui constituency in the 2023 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election. He is the second-highest Indian goalscorer in the history of the Indian Super League and the record highest scorer for Chennaiyin. Jeje won the 2014–15 I-League with Mohun Bagan and the 2015 Indian Super League with Chennaiyin, subsequently winning the 2015–16 FPAI Indian Player of the Year and the AIFF Men's Player of the Year Award. Between 2011 and 2019, he scored 23 goals in 56 international matches.

Photo of Sandesh Jhingan

6. Sandesh Jhingan (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 13.73, Sandesh Jhingan is the 6th most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sandesh Jhingan (born 21 July 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Goa and the Indian national team. He won the AIFF emerging player of the year award in 2014 and made his debut for the India national side in 2015. In 2020, Jhingan was honoured with the Arjuna Award, the second-highest sporting honour of India. He is also the recipient of the 2020–21 AIFF Men's Player of the Year Award.

Photo of Anirudh Thapa

7. Anirudh Thapa (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 12.89, Anirudh Thapa is the 7th most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Anirudh Thapa (born 15 January 1998) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG.

Photo of Pritam Kotal

8. Pritam Kotal (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 12.56, Pritam Kotal is the 8th most famous Indian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Pritam Kotal (Bengali: প্রীতম কোটাল; born 8 September 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the India national team.

People

Pantheon has 8 people classified as Indian soccer players born between 1887 and 1998. Of these 8, 7 (87.50%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Indian soccer players include Sunil Chhetri, Bhaichung Bhutia, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The most famous deceased Indian soccer players include Harold Walden. As of April 2024, 5 new Indian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Harold Walden, Jeje Lalpekhlua, and Sandesh Jhingan.

Living Indian Soccer Players

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Deceased Indian Soccer Players

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Newly Added Indian Soccer Players (2024)

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