Meet Bijay Chhetri, The First Indian Footballer To Sign Permanent Contract With Latin American Side (image-instgram/ bijay_chhetri_5)
After signing a full-time contract with Uruguayan club Colon FC, Bijay Chhetri became the first Indian player to join a South American side. The 23-year-old was on loan at the club from Chennaiyin FC last season.
Colon club is based in Montevideo and competes in the Segunda División (second division) of Uruguay, where it is currently positioned in the lower half of the Serie B league table.
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After Romeo Fernandes, Chhetri had become the second Indian player to play in Latin America. Romeo had turned out for Atletico Paranaense on loan in 2015. “Some officials of Colon FC have also been really supportive of my growth since the day I arrived from Chennaiyin FC last year on loan and subsequently earned a permanent transfer with the club in January. I would like to make a special mention to them,” Chhetri wrote on social media.
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Chhetri, who had made his debut against La Luz in November 2024, began his footballing career with Shillong Lajong in 2016 and made his senior debut with Indian Arrows in 2018. However, the centre-back’s professional debut was with Chennai City FC in 2019. Later, during his appearance with Real Kashmir, Chhetri was able to score twice and netted a goal once while at Sreenidi Deccan.
So far, the Manipur guy had played for clubs such as Chennai City, Real Kashmir, and Sreenidi Deccan before joining Chennaiyin FC this season — his maiden ISL club.
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Though he had joined Colon, Chhetri was only able to play for 25 minutes on the field last season, and now he is looking forward to improving his timing on the ground.
