ISL Auction 2015 Highlights: Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh Go Cheap; Windfall for Unheralded Rino Anto, Eugeneson
Sunil Chhetri was bought by FC Mumbai City for Rs 1.20 crore while
All ten footballers were sold in the Indian Super League 2015 auction in Mumbai on Friday. Never before have all players been sold in any sporting auction in India. Even star cricketers in the cash-rich Indian Premier League have gone unsold. This is quite a record.
12.51 PM IST: The auction comes to an end. All ten players have been sold. Here is a full list:
Jackichand Singh (base price: Rs 20 Lakh) goes for Rs 45 Lakh to FC Pune City
Thoi Singh (base price: Rs 39 Lakh) goes for Rs to 86 Lakh to Chennaiyin FC
Anas Edathodika (base price: 40 Lakh) goes for Rs 41 Lakh to Delhi Dynamos
Eugeneson Lyngdoh becomes the first to breach the crore mark in ISL 2015 auction; bought for Rs 1.05 crore by FC Pune City
India captain and striker Sunil Chhetri bought by Mumbai City for 1.2 Crore. His base price was 80 lakh
Arata Izumi (base price: Rs 40 Lakh) goes for Rs 68 Lakh to Atletico de Kolkata
Robin Singh (base price: Rs 40 Lakh) goes for Rs 51 Lakh to Delhi Dynamos
Karanjit Singh sold for base price of Rs 60 Lakh to Chennaiyin FC
Rino Anto, who had the lowst base price of Rs 17.50 Lakh goes for Rs 90 Lakh to Atletico de Kolkata
Seityasen Singh, Royal Wahingdoh midfielder (base price: Rs 20 Lakh) goes for Rs 56 Lakh to NorthEast United
12.49 PM IST: After some desperate attempts all day, NorthEast United have finally bought a player. "Very happy, very relieved to have bought Seityasen," said John Abraham, co-owner of the team.
12.46 PM IST: Seityasen, Royal Wahindoh midfielder, is beaming in the holding-room. With a base price of Rs 20 Lakh, he has been bought by NorthEast United for Rs 56 Lakh.
12.39 PM IST: Rino Anto, who had the lowest base price of Rs 17.50 Lakh goes for Rs 90 Lakh to Atletico de Kolkata
12.36 PM IST: Anto had the lowest base price in today's auction, is really raking in the moolah here.
12.28 PM IST: Rino Anto (base price: Rs 17.50 Lakh), the Bengaluru FC defender, is under hammer now.
12.24 PM IST: Salgaocar goalkeeper Karanjit Singh sold for base price of Rs 60 Lakh to Chennaiyin FC
12.16 PM IST: Robin Singh sold to Delhi Dynamos for Rs 51 Lakh. Roberto Carlos says he's very happy with the buy.
PHOTO: @Oficial_RC3 is here and he's all smiles! #ISLAuction pic.twitter.com/KEfg8pGqvK
- Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) July 10, 2015
12.10 PM IST: Bengaluru FCÂ forward Robin Singh (Rs 40 Lakh) is the next man under the hammer.
12.06 PM IST: Izumi has been bought by defending champs Atletico de Kolkata for Rs 68 lakh. Co-owned by Ganguly, Kolkata joined the bid pretty late but they managed to hang on to their man. They got a good fight by NorthEast United, who have gone strongly after a few players. However, they have not bought any of the six players auctioned so far.
12.00 PM: NorthEast United have entered the bids here and there but they have not really landed a killer blow anywhere yet - they are yet to make a buy in the auction.
11.57 AM IST: Pune midfielder Arata Izumi is the next man under the hammer. The Pune midfielder has a base price of Rs 40 lakh.
11.49 AM IST: ISL is something new and fresh and professional. Love to be part of Mumbai City FC: Chhetri
11.48 AM IST: Money is not a priority for me. Have been playing for 13 years and God has been kind to me: Sunil Chhetri, after being sold for a low-key 1.2 crore
11.47 AM IST: Mumbai FC brings a new challenge...really happy that i will play with Anelka: Sunil Chhetri
11.43 AM IST: What we bought is worth it. So spending money is not the issue. We would go to any length to buy whom we want: Hrithik
11.41 AM IST: Jackichand and Eugeneson will add muscle to Pune FC. We have got what we wanted: Hrithik Roshan
11.33 AM IST: Chhetri would be a disappointed man - he started with a bidding price of Rs 80 Lakh but managed only Rs 40 lakh more. No other team besides Delhi and Mumbai were even interested. Is this a sign that Chhetri is no more hot property in Indian football? Maybe it is.
11.31 AM IST: Never expected to buy Sunil Chhetri at this price (1.2 cr): Ranbir Kapoor
11.28 AM IST: Really excited to be part of IPL. have been all over over the world, but never played in Mumbai: Sunil Chhetri
PHOTO: New @MumbaiCityFC recruit @chetrisunil11 poses with co-owner Ranbir Kapoor. #ISLAuction pic.twitter.com/bzfxUqlwI5
- Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) July 10, 2015
11.26 AM IST: India captain and striker Chhetri has been bought by Mumbai FC for Rs 1.20 Crore.
© PTI
11.21 AM IST: Sunil Chhetri with a base price of Rs 80 Lakh is under the hammer and the bidding war has intensified immediately.
11.17 AM IST: Eugeneson Lyngdoh becomes the first to breach the crore mark in ISL 2015 auction; bought for Rs 1.05 crore by FC Pune City. There was intense bidding for this player.
PHOTO: @iHrithik poses with the club's newest signing @eugeneson10. #ISLAuction pic.twitter.com/Ap5uNztfEA
- Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) July 10, 2015
11.07 AM IST: Nearly 10 minutes and the bid is still on for Lyngdoh. FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters and North East United are at war over the best midfielder of I-League 2014-15.
11.00 AM IST: Bengaluru FC midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh (base price: Rs. 27.50 Lakh) is the next man in the auction. He would be a nervous man seeing what happened to Anas - there's another waiting game being played out.
10.57 AM IST: There wasn't much in it. Anas Edathodika went for Rs 41 Lakh to Delhi Dynamos, who joined the bid at the last moment. Anas would be disappointed to go by up by Rs 1 lakh to his base price. Delhi admit itwas a strategic call to wait till the last minute and see how far the other teams would go. But Anas will be a happy young man, getting his Delhi jersey from the legendary Roberto Carlos.
10.54 AM IST: Pune defender Anas Edathodika is under the hammer now. Not much interest here.
10.50 AM IST: Looking at the hype around the auction, who would say India are ranked 156th in the FIFA rankings. The men's team recently lost two successive matches in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. But maybe this will do the players some good - they are bagging serious money here and they will be exposed to some top class international talent.
10.44 AM IST: Midfield powerhouse Thoi Singh (base price: Rs 39 Lakh) goes for Rs to 86 Lakh to Chennaiyin FC
OFFICIAL: @ChennaiyinFC sign Thoi Singh for Rs. 86 lac. #ISLAuction pic.twitter.com/oo9TaPAmcW
- Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) July 10, 2015
10.42 AM IST: Ranbir Kapoor's FC Mumbai City also fairly interested in Thoi. Who's taking him?
10.39 AM IST: Thoi is going to be a rich man - the teams are going all guns blazing for him. The Bengaluru FC started with a bid of Rs 39 Lakh. We'll wait and see how far this goes.
10.36 AM IST: Thoi Singh (Bengaluru FC) with a starting bid of Rs. 39 Lakh next to go under the hammer.
10.31 AM IST: Jackichand Singh (base price: Rs 20 Lakh) goes for Rs 45 Lakh to FC Pune City. Hrithik Roshan goes up on stage to complete the contract process. He has been joined by Jackichand to sound applause. "Welcome to the team," says Hrithik to Jackichand.
10.29 AM IST: Intense bidding war for Jackichand under way.Â
10.25 AM IST: Jackichand Singh (base price of Rs 20 lakh), Royal Wahingdoh midfielder is the first player under the hammer.
10.17 AM IST: Renowned auctioneer Charlie Ross will be in charge of proceedings. Right now, he is explaining the rules.
.@iHrithik in @FCPuneCity colours at the #ISLAuction @HrithikRules #HrithikAtISLAuction #HrithikRoshan pic.twitter.com/2qZwEuZyy1
- FC Pune City (@FCPuneCity) July 10, 2015
10.14 AM IST: ISL franchises can buy a maximum of four players from the auction. The total budget of each franchise is Rs.20 crore. The price cap for foreign players is Rs.15.50 crore. The franchises can buy a maximum of four domestic players from a purse of Rs.4.5 crore. (More About Auction Rules)
10.10 AM IST: Nita Ambani, Founder & Chairperson of Football Sports Development Limited, the promoters of ISL addresses the gathering at the auction. "I would like to deeply appreciate our sponsors and partners in believing in the ISL," she says.
10.05 AM IST: The ISL player auction is under way. This should be an interesting event. How much will Chhetri take home today?
9.50 AM IST: The ISL auction in Mumbai will be a star-studded affair. Former India skipper and Atletico de Kolkata co-owner Sourav Ganguly will be also be in attendance. Then there is the legendary Zico besides a host of other football stars. Pune FC co-owner and Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, who is present in the auction, feels this will be a glory year for his team.
© AFP
9.46 AM IST: All these 10 players, who had missed on the inaugural season of the tournament last year owning to their individual contracts with respective I-League clubs, have shown keen interest to be part of ISL 2015.
Some of the players up for grabs at today's #ISLAuction. Don't they look dapper? Send them your best wishes! pic.twitter.com/H3Ti8R06yb
- Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) July 10, 2015
9.42 AM IST: Bengaluru FC striker Robin Singh (base price of rs 40 lakh) will be another player, who will attract a bidding war from the teams. He has played for India in 22 matches and scored once. Robin also has 14 I-League goals.
9.34 AM IST: Besides the 10 Indian players set to feature in the auction, an extensive list of 113 Indian players have been made available to 8 franchise club owners through the Player Draft.
9.25 AM IST: Chhetri with a base price of Rs 80 lakh has the chance to earn crorers but he appeared to be calm and collected ahead of the auction. "Looking forward to it, am not nervous at all. In fact, I am very excited. Everyone wants to gear up for whichever team picks them. Once we know which team chooses us, we will be able to start our training accordingly." The Bengauluru striker said it would be a huge thing for him and other domestic players to share the dressing-rooms with international stars in the course of the ISL.
9.16 AM IST: Indian skipper Chhetri, who did not play the ISL last year, will be the man in focus. He has played 87 internationals and scored 50 goals. He has an incredible record in the I-League too, scoring 20 times in 51 matches.
9.10 AM IST: The ISL 2015 player auction starts in 50 minutes from now. Sunil Chhetri has the highest base price with Rs 80 lakh. Salgaocar goalkeeper Karanjit Singh is second on the list with Rs 60 lakh. Pune defender Anas Edathodika has a base price of Rs 40 lakh. Who knows how much these players will be able to make. Also in focus will be Arata Izumi, Robin Singh, Thoi Singh, Lyngdoh, Jackichand Singh and Rino Anto
© NDTV
PREVIEW
Sunil Chhetri missed the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League last year. The tournament, thanks to live television and the publicity from the organisers, emerged as one of the top watched leagues in the world. Although India's FIFA ranking has gone from bad to worse - they lost to tiny Guam in a World Cup qualifier recently - ISL is once making the headlines. Chhetri doesn't want to miss the party this time. (Atletico de Kolkata to Start Player Draft Selection Sequence in Round One)
Chhetri, currently India's best-known striker, is very close to becoming a millionaire. He will have a headstart with a base price of Rs 80 lakh. There are nine more Indians in the pool with various base prices. Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh (base price 60 lakh), defender Anas Edathodika, medio Arata Izumi and striker Robin Singh - all with a base price of 40 lakh each - could see their best paydays on Friday. Eight teams will be eyeing the Indian players.
Unsold footballers will enter the Indian Player Draft that will feature another 114 players with base prices ranging between Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 33 Lakh.
Some of the salient points of the auction:
Each club has a purse of Rs 21 crore.
A club can spend maximum of Rs 5.50 crore on Domestic Players. A Club allowed to buy four players in auction
A club must have 13 domestic players
A club can spend a maximum of Rs 15.50 crore on international and marquee players
The minimum squad size for a club is 22 players. Each club is allowed to increase their squad size to 26 players.
As of date, 64 players have been signed by the eight clubs through retention or in free market. A total of 40 domestic players will be selected through the Draft so that the clubs will have 13 domestic players by the end of the Draft process. Each club is mandated to have two domestic player under the age of 23 years (called 'Developmental Player') among the 13 domestic players.