Jay Gupta (born 27 September 2001) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

and the India national team. He spent most of his career abroad, predominantly in Portugal and Spain, between 2019 and 2023.

Club career

Earlier career

Gupta went to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 2019, after training with former Indian Super League outfit

Pune City Pune ( ; , ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona ( the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan plateau in Western India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Pune district, and of Pune ...

for two seasons. He became part of youth system of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

-based club GDS Cascais, appearing with their U19 team in 2019–20 AF Lisboa Jun. A 1ª Divisão. Gupta began his senior club career with AF Lisboa 2ª Divisão side G.D. Estoril B in 2021. His first goal came on 26 September 2020, against

Atlético Malveira Atlético Clube da Malveira is a Portuguese football club located in Mafra, Portugal, that currently plays in the AF Lisboa 1st Division, in the fifth tier. History AC da Malveira was formed in 1940 from the merger of Grupo Desportivo Recreati ...

, in their 4–1 defeat in quarter-final of 2020–21 AF Lisboa Taça. He then featured in trials of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

in the mid-season, impressed coach

Josep Gombau Josep Gombau Balague (born 5 June 1976) is a Spanish professional football manager. He is a former Barcelona youth team coach and has held multiple positions at the club's youth academy. Career Born in Amposta, Tarragona, Catalonia, Gombau w ...

, but the deal fall through due to technical reasons. After spending two seasons at G.D. Estoril Praia B, Gupta went on to sign with Spanish

Tercera Federación Tercera Federación, previously known as Tercera RFEF, is the fifth tier of the Spanish football league system. It is below the ''La Liga'', ''Segunda División'', and its fellow semi-professional divisions '' Primera Federación'' and ''Segunda F ...

club Ebre Escola Esportiva in 2023 and appeared in Segona Catalana matches.

Later career

On 7 August 2023, it was officially announced that

club

FC Goa Futebol Clube de Goa is an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Fatorda, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of Football in India, Indian football. The club was established on 2 ...

roped him in as their new addition to the defence.Scroll down for the content on Jay Gupta: He earned caps for

Manolo Márquez Manuel "Manolo" Márquez Roca (born 7 September 1968) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indian national football team. Playing career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Márquez rep ...

managed Goa in

2023 Durand Cup The 2023 Durand Cup (also known as IndianOil Durand Cup due to sponsorship ties with the Indian Oil Corporation) was the 132nd edition of Durand Cup, the oldest association football, football tournament in Asia, and the second edition since it ...

, in which they reached semi-finals, until going down to

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

. He made his competitive league debut on 2 October against newly promoted side

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, in their 1–0 victory. On 7 October, he scored first goal for the club with a curler right at the death in the campaign against

, in their 3–2 win at home. Until the international break in November, he was awarded ISL emerging player of month (October), with one goal and one assist in all five matches, playing crucial role in Goa's unbeaten run. On 9 February 2024, he scored his second league goal against Odisha in an 1–1 tie in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

East Bengal

On 15 July 2025, Gupta moved to

for a transfer fee of ₹1.5 crore, plus ₹10 lakh in appearance-based bonuses. This made it the highest fee

had ever received for an Indian player, surpassing the club’s previous record set by

Aibanbha Dohling Aibanbha Kupar Dohling (born 23 March 1996) commonly known as Aiban, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. Club career Early career Born in Sohra, Meghalaya, Aiban started h ...

in 2023.

International career

On 7 March 2024, Gupta was called-up to the national squad of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as one of the 35 probables by head coach

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and also played for Cádiz in Spain, and for Derby County and West Ham Un ...

, for the two matches against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

round 2 Round 2 may refer to: * ''Round 2'' (J. Holiday album), 2009 * ''Round 2'' (The Stylistics album), 1972 * Round 2 (company), a toy company based in Indiana, United States {{disambiguation ...

of the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

qualifiers. Gupta made his debut on 6 June 2024 in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

at the

Salt Lake Stadium The Salt Lake Stadium, officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football matches, located in Salt Lake City, Greater Kolkata, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators. Named after S ...

. He started the game and played 83 minutes as the game ended 0–0, in which team captain

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (, born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and captains the India national team. He is the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history. He is ...

bid adieu his long international career. On 11 June, he appeared in their last game of the qualification stage against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

at the

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Jassim bin Hamad Stadium () is an association football stadium in Doha, Qatar, located about west from the centre of Doha. It is the home of the Al Sadd Sports Club's association football team, who play in the top-flight Qatar Stars League, ...

as starter until being substituted due to an injury, in which India lost 1–2 and failed to move to the third round.

Personal life

Gupta was born in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, Maharashtra.

Style of play

Playing primarily as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, Gupta is also capable of playing any role in the defensive area. He can play the role of a venture forward, contributing in attack, in addition into defensive duties.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Goa *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Individual *

Emerging Player of the Month: October 2023

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Jay 2001 births Living people Indian men's footballers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Footballers from Pune Indian Super League players FC Goa players Men's association football defenders India men's international footballers Indian expatriate men's footballers Indian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Indian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal