'I am better than Messi and Ronaldo in terms of...' - Sunil Chhetri comes up with bold statement after winning SAFF Championship

It was Tuesday, the 4^th of July when Indian football witnessed a historic moment as Team India under the captaincy of the veteran star Sunil Chhetri won the SAFF Championship 2023 in Bengaluru. The blue tigers locked horns with Kuwait in the final of the tournament at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

The match ended up with an equal scoreline of 1-1 at the time of the full-time whistle by the referee. Later on, India emerged victorious in the penalty shootouts by a margin of 5-4 to lift the title. Just after India’s win, the entire stadium and the Indian fans broke down in an emotional moment when they sang ‘Vande Matram’ along with the players after the win.

Now, the Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri has come up with a bold statement after India’s win in the tournament. He also mentioned and compared himself with the two legendary internationals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Chettri said that he is better than both of these legendary footballers when it’s about giving the best for the national team at the highest level of the game.

"There's no comparison with the rest of the nine names on the list. I mean, I am a fan of players like Ronaldo and Messi, just like so many other fans of them. There's just no comparison, and I don't take this list, or whatever this list is, too seriously. But, yes, when it comes to representing the national team, I can be even better than them," he said.

"It has been great, the support, right from day 1 (of the tournament). On the pitch, the way fans were and encouraged us throughout the game was something special and something magical. Also, the fact that Kuwait and Lebanon—who were India's opponents in the final and the semi-finals, respectively—are not exactly SAFF teams. They were invited, and they are really good quality sides. So beating them, competitions like them, also felt great," said Chhetri to the Hindustan Times.

I can sense the atmosphere is changing - Sunil Chhetri

"There was never a problem with the match-going fans, but yes, there has been an increase in the number of people who have started talking about football, and I think that's a really good thing. I can sense the atmosphere is changing. But at the same time, I know we have jumped up a few ranks, but we still have a long way to go. We have to just keep up the good work and stay focused on where we want to reach now," he added later.