"Thai Messi" Chanathip reunites with Dangda to compete for the Thai League title.

SGGPO June 22, 2023 17:15

Through social media platforms on the evening of June 21st, Pathum United - a club currently competing in the Thai National Championship (Thai League) - announced the successful signing of star player Chanathip Songkrasin.

Chanathip reunites with Dangda at Pathum United.

According to Siamsport, the contract between the two parties will last for 3 years, with a salary of approximately 1.8 million baht (over 1.2 billion VND) per month. At Pathum United, the player nicknamed "Thai Messi" will reunite with two other stars from the national team: striker Teerasil Dangda and central midfielder Sarach Yooyen. Along with Theerathon Bunmathan (currently playing for Buriram), this quartet formed the core of coach Kiatisak's team, leading the Thai national team to the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers - Asian region and winning two AFF Cup titles.

Also on the evening of June 21st, Chanathip posted a photo of himself having dinner with the members of Kawasaki Frontale, with the caption: "Thank you very much."

At the end of the 2022-23 season, Chanathip officially said goodbye to Kawasaki Frontale after 1.5 years. The main reason was that the "Messi" of Thailand no longer had a place in coach Toru Oniki's lineup. At this J-League team, the 30-year-old midfielder played 27 matches, scoring 3 goals and providing 3 assists. The captain of the Thai national team also concluded his 6-year journey playing in Japan, having successively played for Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (2017-2022) and Kawasaki Frontale (2022-2023). Chanathip's peak in Japan was being included in the J-League Team of the Year 2018 and winning the 2018 Player of the Year award from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.

Returning to Thailand, Chanathip's goal is nothing less than winning the Thai League, a competition currently dominated by Buriram United with four titles in the last six years. The midfielder previously won the Thai League once in 2016 with Muangthong United. In the recently concluded 2022-23 season, Pathum United had an unsuccessful season, finishing 9th out of 18 teams, but still secured a place in the AFC Champions League play-offs thanks to their rivals failing to qualify.

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