East Bengal snatch Anwar from arch-rival Mohun Bagan’s grasp, CHECK HOW

Anwar Ali is undoubtedly the current best defender of the Indian National team. If a club can afford him, they will try, and when it is a club like East Bengal, one of the best Indian clubs of all time, they will surely try to secure a player of this quality.

East Bengal FC is one of the most successful clubs in India, having won 3 NFLs, 16 Durand Cups, a record 39 CFLs, and many more national and domestic trophies. East Bengal FC also has 4 international trophies. However, since they joined ISL in the 2020-21 season, their time was not going well. They finished 9th in ISL twice and even finished at the bottom once. This was until they appointed Spanish manager Carles Cuadrat as their gaffer. The former ISL-winning manager changed the course of the team, giving the Red and Golds their first Kolkata Derby win after 4 long years. He also gave East Bengal a national-level trophy (Kalinga Super Cup 2024), thereby ending a long wait of 12 years. As a result, East Bengal FC are back on the Asian stage after 9 years.

Carles Cuadrat and the club officials said multiple times that they will make a strong team next season, i.e., in 2024-25. They already signed the top scorer of last season’s ISL, Dimitrios Diamantakos, and also got the top assist provider of last season, Madih Talal. Apart from this, they made a lot of other signings too.

In the middle of all these, supporters were worried about the defense line which was eventually hampering the team structure. They wished for it to be stronger. Just at a time like this, during early July, unexpected news broke on the internet that Anwar Ali was not willing to continue at Mohun Bagan SG and was about to sign a deal with their arch-rivals, East Bengal.

WHAT HAPPENED ALL OF A SUDDEN TO ANWAR ALI AND MOHUN BAGAN SG?

Before the summer transfer window of 2023, Anwar Ali played for Delhi FC. During that transfer window, he signed a four-year loan contract with Mohun Bagan SG. However, he was dissatisfied with the arrangement and wanted a permanent move before the loan deal concluded.

One day, Ranjit Bajaj, who is said to be the Godfather of Anwar Ali’s football career, said that the loan deal between Anwar Ali and MBSG is invalid due to the new guidelines released by FIFA. He further added Anwar Ali will be returning to Delhi FC.

But, according to some people, the rule was yet to be applied in India. The current rules of AIFF had no restrictions in terms of the duration. Soon the matter went to the PSC (Player Status Committee), where the parties asked for a quick verdict as the livelihood of a professional footballer was involved. Anwar Ali was still in his decision that he wanted a permanent deal.

Different types of news spread all over social media, even the official MBSG account posted a bunch of videos, which some said indicated that Anwar Ali is still an MBSG player, while others said the MBSG social media admin was trolling Anwar Ali. The legal battle in PSC between Delhi FC and MBSG continued but whenever East Bengal club officials were asked about the matter, their response was the same, “It’s a battle between Delhi FC and MBSG”.

After multiple hearings in the PSC, it seemed that the matter was going out of MBSG’s hands. On August 10, Ranjit Bajaj tweeted (on his X handle) that the lawyers of Mohun Bagan SG asked PSC to ban Anwar Ali. This cleared the doubt that MBSG had no legal grounds to fight. On that same day, he got his NOC (No Objection Certificate) and became a Delhi FC player, giving East Bengal FC a chance to legally offer him a deal.

The next day, on August 11, Ranjit Bajaj posted a short video addressing the East Bengal supporters, where he said “We are coming”. Later that evening, he posted yet another video of himself and Anwar Ali at the Chandigarh Airport.

They landed in Kolkata at 10 PM and thousands of East Bengal supporters were there to welcome him. Eventually, due to security matters, he exited the airport from a different gate.

He was seen to be with Ranjit Bajaj and East Bengal officials. He was also wearing a Red and Gold scarf with the logo of East Bengal Club. Though there are no official announcements or hints from East Bengal, the course of events and especially the presence of East Bengal club officials and the East Bengal scarf around his neck indicate that Anwar Ali playing for East Bengal FC is only a matter of time now.

According to some social media posts, he will be earning around 5 Cr. INR while playing for East Bengal FC.

Mohun Bagan supporters are sad, and angry with their management and are feeling betrayed by one of their finest and important players. Many of them are comparing this to the infamous controversial transfer of Luis Figo to Real Madrid CF from FC Barcelona. On the other hand, East Bengal supporters are very happy with their management with some of them saying that this is the revenge for taking Tolgay Ozbey back in 2012.

The legal matters at PSC have not finished yet. The next hearing is scheduled on August 22, at 5 PM. There are rumors that East Bengal FC or Delhi FC might face transfer bans, even Anwar Ali can face a six-month ban. Only time will tell us. As of now, this can be said with confidence that Anwar Ali is all set to play for East Bengal FC.