10 of the I-League’s best players went under the hammer in the inaugural Indian Super League auction and quite unsurprisingly, India captain Sunil Chhetri went home the richest man, as the Bengaluru FC striker was snapped up by Mumbai City FC for a whopping 1.20 crore. Chhetri’s highly-rated teammate at Bengaluru, Eugeneson Lyngdon also earned north of a million, as the central midfielder was scooped up by FC Pune City IISL for 1.05 crore. Lyngdoh who is enjoying the form of his life, was recently awarded the best midfielder in the I-League.
The 8 franchises battled it out for the signatures of the 10 footballers but in the end only 6 teams shared the spoils, as FC Goa and Kerela Blasters failed to bring a single player on board. With a base price of 80 lakhs, Sunil Chhetri was certainly the best player out there and Mumbai City FC owner Ranbir Kapoor was ecstatic when he completed the signing of the experienced marksman.
Although only Chhetri and Lyngdoh attracted prices excess of one crore, right-back Rino Anto came close to that mouth-watering number, as his services were won by Sourav Ganguly-owned Atletico de Kolkata for 90 lakhs. The reigning champs Atletico also brought in Japanese-born Indian midfielder Arata Izumi for 68 lakhs from Pune FC. Rino Anto was quite understandably astounded with his 90 lakh price tag, a five-fold increase from his base price of 17.5 lakhs.
The dogged central midfielder Thoi Singh engaged three clubs – Chennaiyin FC, Mumbai City FC and North East United FC – in a fierce bidding war but the Abhishek Bachchan owned Chennai outfit snapped the hard-man Thoi Singh for jaw-dropping 86 lakhs.
Striker Robin Singh was captured by Delhi Dynamos FC for 51 lakhs while winger Seityasen Singh was recruited by NorthEast United FC for 56 lakhs, 36 lakhs more than the winger’s base price. Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh will play in Chennai colors as he was signed for his base price of 60 lakhs. Jackichand Singh moved to FC Pune City, after the club managed to outbid 3 other clubs looking to sign the mercurial winger. Managed by the legendary Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos, Delhi Dynamos signed central defender Anas Enathodika for 41 lakhs, 1 lakh more than robust defender’s base price.
The much anticipated second season of the Indian Super League will kick-off on 3rd October in the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium as defending champions Atletico de Kolkata take on Chennaiyin FC.
Tags: Eugeneson Lyngdon ISL ISL auction Sunil Chhetri
