Football: Thailand's Chappuis puts Bundesliga dream on hold

KUALA LUMPUR: Swiss-born player football player Charyl Chappuis has earned himself a massive following since moving to Thailand to play football two years ago.

He has a fan base that has expanded across Southeast Asia, and had almost 300,000 followers on his Instagram account during this year's Suzuki Cup.

Many Chappuis supporters were won over by his looks but the 22-year-old wants to be noticed for his football skills. "For me, it is more important that they love me for my football skills and not my looks, though that is is also important. It is important that they like my looks, but in the end, I want to show everybody my football skills."

More importantly, Chappuis hopes he will attract the attention of one European club. "I was born in Switzerland and I played for the Swiss national team until I was 21. Now I play for Thailand and I am proud of it. But of course, one of my dreams is to play in Europe.

He added: "My dream is to play for Barcelona, but I know that is not possible. What I dream for is Bundesliga; I like the German league so my dream is to play there."
For now, Chappuis is putting his European dreams on hold. He recently signed on to Thai football club Suphanburi FC for the 2015 season.

And yes, he's attached: The Thai star said his girlfriend of five years is quitting her job to come to Thailand to be with him, as she found the long-distance relationship difficult.