Harmanjot Singh Khabra leaves East Bengal after 7 long years with the Red and Golds

IT IS THE END of an era. Harmanjot Singh Khabra announced on social media that he was leaving East Bengal after spending seven long seasons with them.

The former Sporting Clube de Goa midfielder joined the Red and Golds back in 2009, and was part of some special moments in the club's journey over the last decade. 

He was part of the squad that picked up the Federation Cup in 2010 and 2012 under Trevor James Morgan. He has also featured prominently in the Red and Golds' Calcutta Football League campaigns, playing a major role in their record-equalling 6 straight CFL titles from 2010 to 2015, wearing the captain's armband in quite a few of those matches. Khabra is one of the few individuals in the Indian footballing history to hold that feat; and most fans had taken it for granted that he would be there at the forefronts of their charge for a record-breaking 7th straight title. 

But Khabra made it clear that his time with the Red and Golds had ended with this post:

When former head coach Biswajit Bhattacharya talked about in-fighting within the dressing room and accused unnamed club officials and senior players of "back-stabbing" him, Khabra's name was one of the first to hit the rumour mill as possible candidates whom Bhattacharya was pointing his fingers at. It is also understood that when Trevor James Morgan took over, he did not like the situation and immediately expressed his wish to overhaul the squad over the summer. It may turn out to be that Khabra's exit is just the first of many major names leaving the club by the time East Bengal kick-off their next season in August.

Interestingly, it was under Morgan that Khabra had some of his best times as an East Bengal player. It was during Morgan's previous stint that Khabra got called up to the national team for the first time, although he had to wait a few more years to actually make debut for the Blue Tigers in late 2015. 

But other than the two cameos he got to make for the national team, this season has been bland for Khabra. He was out for a while with an injury, and in the end managed to make only 7 league appearances for East Bengal.

The lad from Punjab has represented Chennaiyin FC on loan during the first two editions of ISL, and it is likely he will continue to play for them; this time under a direct contract. (ISL has stipulated that its franchises must now have at least 8 Indian players under a 1-year contract) It will be interesting to see which I-League club he joins once the short private tournament gets over in December.