Sandesh Jhingan: Career, Net Worth, Awards & Family

Sandesh Jhingan is a six-foot-tall centre-back currently playing for an Indian Super League side, FC Goa. Sandesh also plays a crucial role for his national team and current club, as he draws attention from the big clubs in the Indian Super League. According to recent transfer rumors, an ISL side, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, showed interest in him. The Indian defender previously played for the team, as Sandesh is in his best form. His rock-solid defending will help the mighty Mohun Bagan Super Giants to solidify their backline.

The Indian defender won multiple trophies and awards, as his career is full of glory. He won the AIFF award and the Arjuna Award, which is the second-highest sporting award in India. For the Indian national football team, he has been an asset to them, as his defensive solidity and ball-carrying ability have helped the Indian team on various occasions. His defensive pairing with India's other asset, Subhasish Bose, helped the Indian team to solidify their back-line.

Who is Sandesh Jhingan?

Sandesh Jhingan Net Worth

The Indian defender has played for many clubs in the Indian Super League in the past, and he joined FC Goa in the 2023 season. As per Transfermarkt, his current market value is ₹ 2.4 crore, as the defender played a key role for the teams he has played in the past, and he is a renowned defender. Sandesh Jhingan's net worth is approximately ₹41 crore.

Sandesh has different businesses and investments; however, his maximum earnings are from his footballing career. Although Sandesh net worth is not available in the official sources, we can not provide the exact amount; that is why we provide an estimated amount.

What is Sandesh Jhingan Salary?

As per the sources, Sandesh Jhingan salary is approximately ₹97 lakhs. In this contract, Sandesh is earning a handsome amount of money weekly; his weekly salary is ₹ 1.8 lakhs.

Playing Style and Strengths

Sandesh Jhingan is an experienced central defender known for his defensive solidity and aerial superiority, and leadership. In the 2024/25 Indian Super League season, he played a key role in the backline for FC Goa under Manolo Marquez, as he solidified the system of their head coach, and Jhingan was the best player of the 2024-25 season for FC Goa in ISL.

Sandesh Jhingan Family and Early Life

Sandesh was born in a typical Punjabi family and chose football as his primary career goal. Since his childhood, Jhingan grew up watching defenders like John Terry, Paolo Maldini, and Carlos Puyol, and he also idolizes Paolo Maldini, and like his idol, he also chose he wanted to become a defender. In his early days, he took admission in St. Stephen's Football Academy.

While with the academy, Jhingan helped the side to reach the South Asian finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup. He also Chandigarh state team at the Under-19 level, helping them to win the B.C Roy Trophy. After an impressive performance for his state team and academy team, Jhinghan received a call to give the trials for the I-League second division side, United Sikkim, in November 2011.

Who is Sandesh Jhingan Wife?

Sandesh Jhingan wife is Ivanka Pavlova, who is a Russian photographer. They tied the knot in 2021, and they also have a daughter named Ilana. They often post with each other on their social media platforms with their daughter. Also, Ivanka Pavlova has been spotted in different stadiums while she was cheering for Sandesh Jhingan.

Sandesh Jhingan Career

Sandesh Jhingan career is a long and interesting one. He is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Goa and the Indian international football team. He has a notable career in the Indian Super League as well as in the Croatian League, where he was on loan from mighty Mohun Bagan Super Giant. He played for different teams in the Indian Super League, such as ATK Mohun Bagan, Kerala Blasters FC, FC Goa, and Bengaluru FC. He also left his mark on the HNK Šibenik in Croatia. He captained the Indian team on two different occasions of the AFC Asian Cup in the absence of Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Club Career

He made his senior team debut for United Sikkim in the second division of the I-League in November 2021, where he gave selection trials, and after his successful trials, he got the chance to play alongside former Indian international Baichung Bhutia and Renedy Singh. Sandesh helped United Sikkim earn the promotion to the I-League after the 2012 season.

On July 22, 2014, after Jhingan's 21 birthday, Jhingan was selected in the second round of the 2014 Indian Super League inaugural season by the Kerala Blasters. He started the opening match from the bench against NorthEast United FC. However, he made his debut in the second match against the Chennaiyin FC.

In the 2015 season, Jhingan made a move to Sporting Goa, despite playing a key role for the Kerala Blasters FC. They decided to send Jhingan on loan for the 2014-15 I-League season. He made his debut on the same day against Mumbai. In 2015, the Indian centre-back came back to Kerala for the second season of the ISL, and that season became the highest-paid Indian player.

In the 2016 season, he was again loaned out by the club to another I-League side, DSK Shivajians. He made his debut for the DSK Shivajians against East Bengal. In the 2016 ISL season, Sandesh was again retained by the club due to immense pressure from the fans. He sacrificed his position and moved to the right-back position. His dominant and consistent performance helped the club to secure a spot in the final for the second time in three seasons. On September 26, 2020, ATK Mohun Bagan announced that Sandesh Jhingan will join the club on a one-year deal. Jhingan's partnership with Tiri helped Mohun Bagan to keep 10 clean sheets throughout that season.

Despite having a five-year deal with the ATK Mohun Bagan, Jhinghan's contract had a clause that helped him to move to the European Side. On August 18, 2021, he made a move to the Croatian First Division side, HNK Šibenik, on a one-year deal with an option to extend for another year, and became the first player to play in Croatia. He was not getting any game time for that side, so again, he moved back to his country, and in the 2022 summer transfer window, ATK Mohun Bagan announced his second stint for the Kolkata side.

On 19 February 2022, Jhingan made the headlines for making a sexist comment after a match with ATK Mohun Bagan against his former club Kerala Blasters. In an Instagram story posted by ATK Mohun Bagan after the match concluded, Jhingan was heard saying, "We have played a match with women, with women". He faced immediate backlash from the fans, and the hashtag #BringBack21 trended on Twitter with Kerala Blasters fans urging the club management to reverse the decision of retiring the number 21 jersey after Jhingan had left the club. Later, Jhingan apologised on social media platforms.

International Career

After his performance during the 2014 ISL season, Jhingan made his senior international debut for India against Nepal in the country's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Jhingan started the match and played the full ninety minutes as India won 2–0. Jhingan then scored his first international goal for India against Turkmenistan. 9th September was the last time that Jhingan played for India in 2019. In a crucial away match against Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. He suffered an ACL injury later that month in a pre-friendly match and was reported to be sidelined for the next 6 months. Sandesh Jhingan made his comeback to the national team on 25 March 2021 in a friendly against Oman, where he also captained the side.

Sandesh Jhingan Awards and Achievements

Jhingan won the AIFF emerging player of the year award in 2014 and made his debut for the India national side in 2015. In 2020, Jhingan was honoured with the Arjuna Award, the second-highest sporting honour of India. He is also the recipient of the 2020–21 AIFF Men's Player of the Year Award. However, Sandesh's award cabinet is full of glories, but he has still not won any Indian Super League. We hope he will win soon.