Thai superstar Chanathip Songkrasin has joined back-to-back MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE champions Kawasaki Frontale.

The 28-year-old attacker comes to Frontale from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, where he spent five seasons. Chanathip scored 14 goals and added 20 assists in 115 league appearances with Consadole and earned both club Player of the Year and J.LEAGUE Best Eleven honors in 2018.

Chanathip is also the captain of the Thailand National Team. His long track record of success at the international level includes three AFF Championships, capturing tournament MVP on all three occasions, and leading his country to the knockout stages of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1972.

Frontale have won the league in four of the last five seasons, breaking a slew of records along the way, but they saw several key players depart in 2021. Hidemasa Morita transferred to CD Santa Clara of Portugal before the season, while Ao Tanaka left for Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan and Kaoru Mitoma inked a long-term contract with Brighton & Hove Albion of the English Premier League. More recently, Reo Hatate secured a move to Celtic F.C. in Scotland, putting Frontale in the market for capable attacking reinforcements to fill their boots.

Having proved he can be one of the top players in Japan in the past, Chanathip now joins Japan’s top team as part of their efforts to stay at the summit for the fifth season in the last six years.