The Top Iranian Footballers That We Wish Played in the Persian Gulf Pro League Today

The Persian Gulf Pro League has had an interesting start so far this season as teams such as Sepahan, Aluminium Arak and Esteghlal F.C. hover near the top, whilst Sanat Naft and Padideh find themselves in a dangerous spot towards the bottom. However, there has been some quality play all around by current squad members, some of which will be leading Iran to the World Cup in 2022. With that in mind, it is worth looking back at some of the best Iranian Footballers that we wish were still playing in the Persian Gulf Pro League today.

Ali Daei 

Currently, when you look at the Champions League Betting odds, Bayern Munich are in a favourable position with 7/2 odds that they will win the competition outright. This puts them in better standing than a lot of other sides such as Liverpool and Manchester United; however, the favourites of the tournament remain to be Manchester City. 

It’s possible that Bayern Munich’s odds would currently be even stronger if they still had the legend that was Ali Daei playing for them. He originally played football whilst attending Sharif University and upon graduation made his name as a prolific goal scorer in the sport. He, even to this day, holds the world record for the most goals ever scored in international football with a total of 109. Cristiano Ronaldo nearly beat this at last year’s Euros but was unable to do so. 

Ali Karimi 

Karimi was an Iranian footballer who, throughout his career, has played for a plethora of top-performing teams. These include the likes of Al-Ahli Dubai, Qatar SC, Bayern Munich, Steel Azin, Fath Tehran, Tractor Sazi and Persepolis. He even got some caps in the Iranian national team, for which he managed to score a total of 38 goals. This didn’t come without drama, though. In 2008, he was banned from playing for the national team after launching some criticism at the IRIFF. The President at the time (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) intervened and he was eventually reinstated. The tenacity of a player such as Karimi is something that the current Persian Gulf Pro League would certainly benefit from. 

Mehdi Mahdavikia 

Born in 1977 on the 24th July, the current coach and former player Mehdi Mahdavikia had a fantastic career and it would be amazing to see him in the current league. He wore the shirt of a number of Iranian clubs during his time including the likes of Bank Melli, Steel Azin, Persepolis and Damash Gilan. His career also saw him fly overseas too as he represented a number of German clubs and played for the Iranian national team.  

Why These Players Would Be Excellent in the Persian Gulf Pro League Today 

These Iranian legends of football brought with them a great deal of excitement to every game and a level of skill that remains legendary in the football history books to this day. The league so far this year has been excellent but there is no getting away from the fact that if the likes of Mahdavikia, Karimi and Daei were there today, it would be on a whole other level.