East Bengal FC have rewarded Cleiton Silva with a contract extension after he was their best player of the current Indian Super League season by a long margin. The Brazilian had a spectacular individual season as he finished as the joint highest goalscorer in the competition, scoring 12 goals in the league phase.
The new contract with the Red and Golds will keep the Brazilian at the club till the end of 2023-24 ISL season. The Kolkata club are looking to keep hold of their core and keeping Cleiton was their primary goal.
Cleiton Silva who joined East Bengal from Bengaluru FC showed his true potential in almost every game when he stepped up in chance creation or finding the target in tight contests. Apart from scoring in the ISL he also scored twice in the Durand Cup, both goals came against Mumbai City FC.
The former Bengaluru FC striker joined East Bengal on a one year deal and soon became fan favourite with his relentless effort on the football field. Cleiton never allowed the negativity around the club to deter his performance. He is a leader in his own rights and having him in the dressing room for another season can be very fruitful for the Red and Golds.
The 36-year-old Brazilian has a lot of history in accordance with scoring goals. He became the first foreign player to reach 100 goals in Thailand and has been at his prolific best even in the ISL. He scored 16 gols for Bengaluru FC in total. Seven of them came in his first (2020-21) season. He followed it up with nine goals in the following season for the Blues. However his best season was the recently concluded one with East Bengal as he scored 12 goals and finished as a top scorer in the league phase.
With the Super Cup coming up, Cleiton’s goal scoring prowess will be required for the Kolkata outfit. His experience, leadership quality and obviously goal scoring ability will enhance the club’s chances in the upcoming tournament and also in the coming domestic season.
East Bengal’s club director, Sandeep Agarwal was delighted to extend Cleiton’s contract and he firmly believes that the experienced Brazilian wil help the team a lot in the upcoming season as he termed his efforts as ‘invaluable’.
“We are thrilled to have Cleiton Silva continue this journey with East Bengal FC. His contribution to the team’s performance last season was invaluable, and we believe that he has more to offer. We are confident that his experience and skills will help us achieve goals in the upcoming season. This is one of the first steps to many welcome improvements that we plan to make in the upcoming season,” he said in delight.
The Brazilian also looked in good spirits after putting pen to paper. He highlighted that the team learned a lot despite the troubles and is hoping to grow together in the upcoming season as he believes in the project.
“I’m happy to be here for the next season. I believe in the project. Despite the problems, we‘ve had some good moments in the league. I think we can learn and grow together in the next season. Joy East Bengal!”
East Bengal had a forgetful season as they finished ninth in the points table. They won six matches throughout the league phase and earned only 19 points, same as 10th placed Jamshedpur FC. While there must be plenty to reflect on for the team management, one positive that they have got from this season is a reliable forward in Cleiton Silva and by keeping him for another year, the club has taken the right step.
