---
title: "John Abraham selects Indian football favourites at NorthEast United FC; Ajaraie 23 goals, Golden Boot."
sdDatePublished: "2026-09-06T13:08:00Z"
source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/john-abraham-favourite-indian-footballers-northeast-united"
topics:
  - name: "sport"
    identifier: "medtop:15000000"
  - name: "football"
    identifier: "medtop:20001065"
locations:
  - "Assam"
  - "India"
---


John Abraham selects Indian football favourites at NorthEast United FC; Ajaraie 23 goals, Golden Boot.

John Abraham names his football favourites with one clear message: ‘India first’

‘India first’: John Abraham picks homegrown favourites over global football stars

The NorthEast United owner picked Parthib Gogoi, Redeem Tlang and Gurmeet Singh Chahal among his favourites while praising record-breaker Alaaeddine Ajaraie.

Bollywood actor and NorthEast United FC co-owner John Abraham has named Parthib Gogoi, Redeem Tlang and goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh Chahal among his favourite Indian footballers , insisting that homegrown players come before international superstars for him.

Asked to name his favourite football player, Abraham looked no further than his own Indian Super League ( ISL ) club.

“In India, there are two. One is Parthib Gogoi from Assam. There is Redeem Tlang. Gurmeet is my goalkeeper,” Abraham said in a video that went viral on social media on Saturday.

The actor, a long-time advocate of Indian football , explained that his connection with the domestic game meant more to him than following some of the biggest names in international football .

“Because I am an Indian, and I love my Indian players. And I know more about Indian football,” Abraham said. “I'm not a guy who only understands foreign football. I love my players, I love my country, and I love Indian football.”

Abraham also stressed that his involvement with NorthEast United goes beyond simply owning the club, pointing to his familiarity with the players and their roles on the pitch.

“I understand all my player positions. I know the position of every single one of my players - who plays, and in which position they play. And that is the most important thing for me.”

The comments come ahead of the ISL 2026-27 season, which will kick off on October 10 and run until May next year.

The new campaign will see the ISL return to its traditional home-and-away format following a shortened 2025-26 season. NorthEast United will be among 13 clubs set to compete, with the top six teams qualifying for the returning playoffs.

There was, however, one overseas player Abraham was happy to single out - NorthEast United's record-breaking forward Alaaeddine Ajaraie.

“Among foreign players, there is Alaaeddine Ajaraie, who is our record-breaking football player,” he said.

Ajaraie enjoyed a historic ISL 2024-25 campaign for NorthEast United, scoring 23 goals to win the Golden Boot and set a new record for the most goals in a single season.

The Moroccan surpassed the previous mark of 18 goals jointly held by FC Goa's Coro from the 2017-18 campaign and Hyderabad FC's Bartholomew Ogbeche from 2021-22.

Ajaraie also registered seven assists in 25 matches, taking his combined tally to 30 goal contributions for the season.

While global stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are often obvious choices when discussing favourite footballers, Abraham had little interest in looking beyond Indian football and his own NorthEast United players.

“If you want to hear the name of any other international player, I won't say it,” he laughed.

“International players don't matter to me. India first!”

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