Mumbai: The smile on Rino Anto's face said it all. Though an established footballer with the Bengaluru FC in the I-League and the current national team, the wing-back could hardly imagine the bidding among the franchises to get him on board would reach a figure of Rs 90 lakh.

"It was amazing... Absolutely amazing," said a rather bewildered Anto immediately after Atletico de Kolkata bagged him. "Frankly, I did not expect to get so much since my base price was only Rs17.50 lakh. I would have been happy to get around Rs 60 or 65 lakh," said the 27-year-old Kerala-born footballer with a smile.

Going back to Calcutta is like a homecoming for Rino. "I played for Mohun Bagan till 2010 before I joined Salgaocar. I looking forward to playing for ATK. The fans there are simply superb. I have not seen such passionate fans anywhere in my career."

Anto said he was grateful to the ATK management for having faith on him. "Who does not want to play for the defending champions? I believe they have a physical trainer from Atletico de Madrid... That will be a great advantage for me," he said.

Rino said he was used to play under pressure. "Though not like the Calcutta clubs, there is a lot of pressure in Bengaluru FC also," he said.

Equally delighted was Arata Izumi, who was picked up by the ATK for Rs 68 lakh in the auction. "When I first came from Japan, I played for East Bengal. That memory is still fresh in my mind. Playing there again would not be a problem," he said.

The ATK bosses also tried to rope in Eugenson Lyngdoh but stopped after reaching Rs 1 crore. "It was part of the strategy. We did not get him but we are happy the way we picked up other players," said ATK coach Antonio Lopez Habas.