The Indian national football team is on the rise. With eight wins from their last eight international matches, Stephen Constantine’s Blue Tigers are on a roll like never before.
Amid that and the confusion surrounding the domestic Indian football structure, Indian footballers have slowly grown into the modern methods of the beautiful game. With enhanced facilities and boosted finances, the day isn’t far when Indian football stars will be talked in the same breath as the likes of Wayne Rooney and Neymar in world football.
According to data from the popular transfermarkt.com website, the market valuations of Indian footballers are, understandably, pretty low. It is not a surprise that Indian captain Sunil Chhetri is valued in the footballing world almost 500 times lesser than Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Such are the dynamics of player valuations that Indian players will require quite a bit of time to reach the levels of their European or South American counterparts. Having said that, Indian football stars don’t come for peanuts either and here are the five Indian national team regulars with the highest market valuations.
#1 Sunil Chhetri — 275,000 euros
The Indian captain is also the country’s all-time record goalscorer in international matches with 54 goals. Chhetri sits just below Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Clint Dempsey on the list of top active international goalscorers, hence it doesn’t come as a shock to see him top this list.
According to transfermarkt.com, Chhetri is currently valued at 275,000 euros. This valuation is from December last year and as the Bengaluru FC forward has only played in the I-League, Federation Cup and the group stage of the AFC Cup 2017 after ISL-3, there has been little variation in his market value since.
#2 Jeje Lalpekhlua — 250,000 euros
Jeje’s recent scoring record for India has been nothing short of phenomenal. The Mohun Bagan striker has netted seven goals in his last eight India appearances, taking his goals tally to 18 in 45 games overall. The prolific Jeje, hence, is the logical second player on this list with a market value of 250,000 euros.
Similar to Chhetri, Jeje hasn’t played in many elite level matches in the recent past, hence there has been no change to his market value from the time he played with Chennaiyin FC in ISL 2016. Being saluted as the best player in the Indian national team by captain Chhetri last week, the football markets seem to be undervaluing the Mizo striker.
#3 Sandesh Jhingan — 125,000 euros
The burly centre-back has been a revelation in Indian football over the past few years and is now a fixture in Constantine’s national team set-up. Jhingan played for Kerala Blasters in ISL 2016 before joining Bengaluru FC on loan in January this year.
Jhingan’s rapid rise into Indian football’s mainstream is reflected in the change that his valuation has gone through in the space of a year. From being valued at 25,000 euros in June last year, a standout ISL-3 campaign followed by his performances for Bengaluru FC and India has ensured a jump of 100,000 euros in Jhingan’s market value in the space of 12 months.
#4 Jackichand Singh — 125,000 euros
Like Jhingan, Jackichand Singh’s rise from being an afterthought to a star of the Indian national team has coincided with a huge spike in his market valuation. The tricky winger, who tends to perform better for his country than club, burst onto the Indian football scene when he blew away the I-League with his performances for Royal Wahingdoh in the 2014/15 season.
He has since gone on to play for Pune City and Mumbai City in the ISL before joining East Bengal this year. Jacki’s current valuation stands at 125,000 euros, which is the highest of his career until now. With the progress he has made in his short career so far, Jacki’s market valuation surely stands to improve in the future.
#5 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu — 100,000 euros
India’s first-choice national team goalkeeper Gurpreet made an entire nation proud when he played in a Europa League first round qualifier for Stabaek last season. Gurpreet’s European adventure has certainly made him one of the most sought-after Indian footballers, but as things stand, his valuation remains low at 100,000 euros, according to transfermarkt.com.
Gurpreet helped India produce three clean sheets on the spin this year and has also usurped Sayouba Mande as the Stabaek number one, hence his valuation is set to receive a steep increase in the near future. That being said, any move to a bigger footballing nation than Norway will also significantly improve his market value. Currently, Gurpreet is the only Indian national team player to ply his trade at a European club.
