ISL: Mumbai City FC's top five best all-time foreign players

Three players on the list joined the Islanders from FC Goa.

Mumbai City FC has been one of the most dominant sides in the history of the Indian Super League (ISL). Their dominance started after the takeover of the Islanders by City Football Group (CFG) completed in 2019.

The Islanders won a historic double in the 2020-21 season and followed up with the 2022-23 ISL Shield Cup and the 2023-24 ISL Cups. While players like Bipin Singh and Lallinzuala Chhangte played a pivotal role in the wins, the contributions of the foreign players can’t be overlooked.

In fact, for most teams, their fates are decided by the level of performance displayed by the foreigners in the team.

Bartholomew Ogbeche, Roy Krishna, Ferran Corominas, and Adrian Luna are some of the players who have done most of the heavy lifting for their clubs during the good times of the club. Now that we have established the importance of foreigners in an Indian Super League side, it is time to discuss the ones that have helped the Islanders dominate the league.

5. Lucian Goian

The Romanian centre-back spent three years in the Indian Super League, two with the Islanders and one with Chennaiyin FC. With the latter, the Romanian finished as the runners-up in the league. However, his better performances came in the Mumbai City FC shirt, as he captained them to a semi-final appearance in his second season with the club. 

His first season with the Islanders was troublesome as he could help his team keep only three clean sheets in the league. However, in his second season, with the change in the managerial staff, Goian helped Mumbai keep clean sheets in five of their nine home games.

Lucian Goian has the seventh-most interceptions and 12th-most successful tackles in the history of the league. 

4. Mourtada Fall

Sergio Lobera’s FC Goa troubled Mumbai City in Lucian Goian’s days a lot, scoring 12 goals and conceding only twice in four games in the 2018-19 season. Of those four games, Goa kept a clean sheet in two of them. After the CFG takeover, Mumbai brought the core of FC Goa’s team and one of them was Mourtada Fall.

The Senegalese center-back was an amicable passer, a threat in the air, and as good as they come while defending. In his very first season, Fall helped Mumbai City FC win the domestic double. 

Fall has the 11th most touches, fifth most successful passes, the 19th most interceptions, and the 20th highest goalscorer in the league’s history. He is truly an all-timer and could be in the starting eleven of the best players to have played in the league.

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3. Hugo Boumous

Hugo Boumous was another player who was taken away from the FC Goa side after the CFG takeover. And the then-25-year-old attacking midfielder joined the Islanders on a then-transfer record fee. The French midfielder did not disappoint as he won the golden ball as Mumbai City won both the ISL Cup and the ISL Shield in the 2020-21 season.

However, his stay at the club was short-lived as he joined Mohun Bagan Super Giant (then ATK Mohun Bagan) for another record-breaking transfer fee. The French midfielder now plies his trade for Odisha FC.

Boumous leads the all-time assists providers chart, is the second highest chance creator, and is ninth on the all-time leading goalscorers chart in the ISL.

2. Jorge Pereyra Diaz

Jorge Pereyra Diaz scored goals in double-digits in both of his seasons with Mumbai City FC. In his first season, he helped Mumbai win the ISL League Winners’ Shield and in the second season he followed it with the ISL Cup. The Argentine forward now plays for the Bengaluru FC, having made the transfer in the build-up to the season.

Before Mumbai City FC, Jorge Pereyra Diaz formed a formidable partnership with Adrian Luna and Alvaro Vazquez at Kerala Blasters, helping them finish as runners-up in the ISL Playoffs in the 2021-22 season.

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1. Ahmed Jahouh

Another player Sergio Lobera takes with him to every club he joins in the Indian Super League is Moroccan-holding midfielder Ahmed Jahouh. Jahouh can play like a deep-lying playmaker and as a destroyer, and when needed can score long-rangers.

There is a good case to be made for him to be the best-ever player to have played in the ISL. He has the most successful passes, most successful tackles, most touches, most chances created, third-highest assists provided, sixth-most interceptions, and the 11th-most shots in the league’s history.

Jahouh also has won the ISL Shield thrice (once with Goa and twice with Mumbai) and an ISL Cup title and that surely is enough to classify him among the league’s most elite players.

Honourable Mentions: Although their time in the league was limited Mumbai City, fans will surely remember the contributions of Uruguayan FIFA 2010 World Cup topscorer Diego Forlan as well as former Chelsea FC icon Nicolas Anelka who was player-manager for the side in ISL 2014-15.

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