Five Indian players to have played for foreign teams

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Bengaluru, Aug 10: India might not be a footballing tycoon and currently find themselves beyond the 100 mark in the FIFA rankings but there is no lack of passion for the global game among the people of the massive nation.

Over the years, India have produced some amazing talents and some of them even earned their opportunities to play in foreign leagues. One of the finest talents of Indian football in the last few years, Sandesh Jhingan, could be on his way to Europe having attracted interest from top tier clubs in Austria, Croatia and Greece with Croatian First Football League club HNK Šibenik reportedly leading the chase for his signature.

In this article, we will take a look at five top Indian footballers to have graced foreign leagues in the past.

5. Subrata Pal

One of the greatest keepers India have ever produced, Subrata Pal, goalkeeper from India to play for a foreign club. Pal was signed by Danish side FC Vestsjaelland in 2014 and he made a number of appearances for their reserve team. Hailed as the "Indian Spiderman" due to his quick reflexes, the 34-year-old continues to perform at the highest level in the Indian Super League and is currently on the books of Hyderabad FC.

4. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

Another goalkeeper makes this list in the form of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and the 29-year-old certainly enjoyed a better spell in Europe when compared to his compatriot and fellow keeper Subrata Pal. Sandhu became the first Indian to play in the UEFA Europa League and that was a massive achievement for both him as well as for India.

The India number one, currently on the books of Bengaluru FC, signed for Norwegian club FC Stabaek in 2014 and made his senior debut in 2015. He made his Norwegian League debut in 2016 and later on participated in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.

3. Sunil Chhetri

The crown jewel of Indian football in the modern era, Sunil Chhetri has aged like fine wine and still remains the best player of India even at the age of 37. He keeps on performing at the highest level for both club and country even at the dusk of his career.

The versatile forward secured a move to Queens Park Rangers but the move failed to materialise as he was denied a work permit by the British government with India placed outside top 70 international rankings. He signed for Major League Soccer (MLS) side, Kansas City Wizards in 2010 and in 2012, he got an opportunity with Sporting Lisbon and played for their B team.

2. Bhaichung Bhutia

One of the greatest players to have ever graced the Indian shirt, Bhaichung Bhutia also had a spell in foreign with the striker signing for English club Bury in Greater Manchester in 1999. Bhutia made 37 appearances for the club, becoming the first Asian-born player to score a brace in an English football match.

He had several offers in England but struggled to obtain a visa which limited his playing time as well as his opportunity to move to a bigger club in the country and he eventually came back to his motherland. Later on in his career, the striker played for several other foreign clubs such as Perak FA and MK Land FC from Malaysia.

1. Mohammed Salim

Mohammed Salim was the first player from the Indian sub-continent to play for a European club and he had a spell with Celtic, one of the most successful clubs in Europe. The Indian icon played barefooted during his career and was so impressive that the Chinese Olympic team invited him to play a few friendlies in 1936.

His talent was eventually spotted by Scottish giants Celtic, who invited him for trials and signed him after impressing them. He played a few games for the Hoops after which he returned to India after suffering from homesickness.