Lallianzuala Chhangte recently spoke to Marcus Mergulhao of TOI, and acknowledged that he turned down several major offers to stay at Mumbai City FC this summer. The 27-year-old arguably India’s best player right now, as is evident by his consecutive AIFF Player of the Year awards.
He believes Mumbai City FC is the right club for him at least for the next three to four years. However, he remains keen on possibly playing abroad at some point in his career.
Lallianzuala Chhangte opens up before the new season
"Since I came here, I didn’t do bad. The club has been really good to me, the fans were amazing."
— Islanders Extra (@Islanders_Extra) August 12, 2024
The offers, Chhangte said, surely made him think, but eventually he was left in no doubt that for his future development,“this is the right club, at least for 3-4 years”
Chhangte🥰 pic.twitter.com/j8sBDhrcxr
“Since I was a kid, my dream has been to play abroad. I still remember those days when I joined Liverpool FC International (Academy) and DSK Shivajians (Pune).
“It was my dream to play abroad, maybe in Asia if not Europe. I still have the urge, desire to play outside of India. If there is an opportunity, I will take it.
“I have to look at my age as well, look for the right club, the right country. But I am happy where I am right now, with City Football Group. I think I have so much to do. We can still achieve so much more than what we have done so far,” Chhangte said.
The winger is in the form of his life, and is certainly one of the top players heading into the new season. Whether or not he is able to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri to spend some time abroad is something that remains to be seen.
