Top price-tags for foreigners in the ISL

The Indian Super League international player draft took place last week in Mumbai with 49 foreigners being selected by eight city franchises over seven rounds. These foreigners were drafted to fulfil each teams quota of having seven international players in the squad so marquee foreigners like Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg were not included.Interestingly the most expensive foreigners in the list of 49 have lower price-tags than the majority of highest-paid Indian players. Sportskeeda lists the top three price-tags for these foreigners.

#1 80,000 USD (48.6 lakh approx)

Only two players under this price tag

Bernard Mendy – The former French international is one of the two most expensive international players. He has represented France four times at international level and has played in the English Premier League for Bolton Wanderers and Hull City. The former PSG player was featuring for Brest in the French second tier last season and was Chennai’s very first pick in the international draft.

Team: Chennai

Age: 33

Nationality: French

Position: Right/Centre Back; Right Winger

Draft pick: Round 1

Gregory Arnolin – Despite being the joint-most expensive player, the Frenchman had to wait until the sixth round to get picked by Goa. The PSG youth product has been playing mostly in Portugal including a spell with Pacos Ferreira last year. Arnolin has also played in the La Liga for Sporting Gijon and has represented Martinique at senior international level

Team: Goa

Age: 33

Nationality: French, Martinique

Position: Centre Back

Draft pick: Round 6

#2 70,000 USD (42.5 lakh approx)

Only one player in this price tag

Josemi – The former UEFA Champions League winner is one of six Spaniards at Atletico de Kolkata and thus would certainly feel at home during the ISL. Josemi has spent the majority of his career in Spain playing for clubs like Malaga, Mallorca and Villarreal. But the right back is best remembered for his two-year spell at Liverpool, where he won the Champions League in 2004-05. Josemi was last playing for Skoda Xanthi in Greece’s top-most league and will bring in plenty of quality and experience to both the Kolkata franchise and the league overall.

Team: Atletico de Kolkata

Age: 34

Nationality: Spanish

Position: Right Back

Draft pick: Round 3

#3 59,000 USD approx (23.7 lakh approx)

More than 30 players are under this price-tag but we picked out the two standout names.

Michael Chopra – The former EPL striker was the first choice of Kerala Blasters player-manager David James. Chopra will be coming to India with a big reputation as he is the only player of Indian origin to have scored in the world’s most famous domestic league. The former English youth international had spells at both Newcastle United and Sunderland in the Premier League besides playing for numerous clubs in England’s second tier. Last season he was playing for Blackpool but now he is determined to make a mark for the Sachin Tendulkar-owned franchise. Additionally he also wants to play in the I-League and is willing to give up his British passport in order to become eligible to play for India at international level.

Team: Kerala Blasters

Age: 30

Nationality: English; (Indian Origin)

Position: Forward

Draft pick: Round 1

Bojan Djordjic – The former Manchester United player had to wait until the fourth round to get picked by Chennai. Bojan moved to Manchester United as a 17-year-old in 1999 but only got to make two appearances for their senior team. Although he was contracted to the Red Devils for five seasons, Bojan was mostly sent away on loan stints. He has had spells in Serbia, Sweden, Scotland, Hungary and Belgium and has the distinction of winning league titles in four different countries. The former Sweden U-18 and U-21 international has been very vocal of increasing that number to five by lifting the ISL trophy in the inaugural season.

Team: Chennai

Age: 32

Nationality: Serbian; Swede

Position: Attacking Midfielder

Draft pick: Round 4