When I am sad, I watch Lionel Messi’s videos: Sunil Chhetri

The 36-year-old Chhetri has brushed aside any comparison with Messi whom he has overtaken to be the second highest international goal-scorer among active players.

Doha: Lionel Messi’s mesmerising runs on a football pitch can make a sad Sunil Chhetri happy, the talismanic India captain said on Saturday, and made it clear that comparing him with the Argentine virtuoso is akin to living in a “stupid cocoon”.

The 36-year-old Chhetri has more than once brushed aside any comparison with Messi whom he has overtaken to be the second highest international goal-scorer among active players. “When I am sad, I watch Messi’s videos and it makes me happy, so when I meet him, I will tell him I am a fan (of him), give him a nice handshake, and that is about it,” Chhetri said in an AIFF interview to mark his 16 years of international career.

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“I would say ‘Hi, I am Sunil Chhetri and I am a big fan’. I will not trouble him. If I meet him, I will be happy, if I don’t, I am still good,” he said when asked what he would do if he meets Messi. Chhetri overtook Messi (72 goals) with his second goal – and 74th overall – in India’s 2-0 win over Bangladesh in a World Cup qualifying round match on June 7 here.

“Along with everyone else in the world, I am also a huge fan of Messi. There is no comparison whatsoever. I am just happy that I get an opportunity to score for my country and I feel proud. “(But) I don’t get into the stupid cocoon of comparing myself with all those great players. There are thousands of players who are better than me, and all of them are also fans of Lionel Messi. That’s the gap.”

It was on this day 16 years ago that Chhetri donned the India jersey for the first time, in a match against Pakistan in Quetta under then head coach Sukhwinder Singh. Since then, he has gone on to play 117 matches for India, scoring 74 goals – the second-most for an active international player. He is just three goals shy of the great Pele’s tally.

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