Meet world football’s unknown superstars

Starring: the Bhutanese Ronaldo! We may not know them, but these players are local legends

Not every player can achieve global fame – some become household names in just the one country. Meet the unknown superstars

“Most people know me in Bhutan and people expect a lot from me,” Chencho Gyeltshen tells Fourfourtwo. With nicknames including ‘the Ronaldo of Bhutan’ and ‘CG7’, it’s no wonder. Gyeltshen is only 19 years old, but he is already responsible for the greatest moment in the history of the Bhutanese national team. The Dragon Boys were in the bottom two places in the FIFA rankings as recently as 2002, when they faced Montserrat in a specially arranged match dubbed ‘the other World Cup final’ (the Asian side won 4-0) 4-0). But a year ago, Gyeltshen’s two goals against Sri Lanka Lanka, pictured, meant Bhutan progress progressed through a World Cup qualifying round for the first time.

True, the Himalayan country have since been thrashed 15-0 and 12-0 in the group stage, but that has done nothing to diminish Gyeltshen’s popularity.

The teenager never attempts to shake off the ‘Ronaldo of Bhutan’ tag – in fact he actively encourages it, with his love for the Portuguese star so deep that he wears the same shirt number, slips into the Real Madrid man’s CR7 boots, and even sports the same slicked-back hairstyle.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is my idol and everything I do is what Ronaldo does,” Gyeltshen says. “Of course, many people adore him, but I am one crazy fan of him. I wear No.7 because my idol wears the same. People in my country often compare me to Ronaldo and I feel proud to have that nickname.”