Bijay Chhetri becomes first Indian footballer to sign a permanent contract with Latin American side

Bijay Chhetri becomes first Indian footballer to sign a permanent contract with Latin American side

Bijay Chhetri became the first Indian player to join a South American side permanently when he signed a full-time contract with Uruguayan club Colon FC.

Colón is based in Montevideo and competes in the Segunda Division Profesional (second division) of Uruguay. The 23-year-old centre-back was on loan at the club from Chennaiyin FC last season and made his debut against La Luz in November 2024.

He became the second Indian to play in Latin America after Romeo Fernandes, who turned out for Atlético 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 a 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.

Chhetri, from Manipur, began his footballing career with Shillong Lajong in 2016 and made his senior debut with Indian Arrows in 2018.

Since then, he has played for clubs such as Chennai City, Real Kashmir and Sreenidi Deccan before joining Chennaiyin FC this season — his maiden ISL club.

At Colon, however, Chhetri played just 25 minutes last season and will look to improve on that this time around.