Iran’s Most Valuable Football Players

Asian football has long been underrated, and when it comes to the beautiful game on the giant continent, Iran should be considered one of the best nations competing. They have qualified for five of the last seven FIFA World Cups, including the last three on the bounce. And they have achieved plenty of positive results along the way. 

Asian football has long been underrated, and when it comes to the beautiful game on the giant continent, Iran should be considered one of the best nations competing. They have qualified for five of the last seven FIFA World Cups, including the last three on the bounce. And they have achieved plenty of positive results along the way. 

In the most recent edition of the tournament in Qatar last November and December, Team Melli stunned Euro 2016 semifinalists Wales in the group stage. Injury time strikes from Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian were enough to secure a 2-0 victory setting up a final game decider against the USA in Doha. In the end, Captain America himself Christian Pulisic would break Iranian hearts for the last time, scoring the only goal of the game as the Stars and Stripes secured second place in Group B.

Four years before that, another injury-time goal against Morocco gave Iran a win in their opening game of the tournament. A narrow defeat against Spain in their second game of the tournament would set up yet another final-game decider, and they would come within a whisker of the knockout stages once again. A 93rd-minute equalizer from Karim Ansarifard against Portugal meant that Iran needed just one more goal to qualify, and the goal scorer would miss a guilt-edged chance just seconds after his equalizer, squandering the chance of a first-ever trip to the World Cup knockout stages.

Europe’s elite leagues have all now entered their postseason stage and most Iran’s top stars are now out of action until August. Plenty of sites are already preparing their Premier League match previews ahead of the new campaigns getting away in a couple of months’ time but we have decided to take a different approach with this article. Let's take a look at some of the most valuable Iranian footballers in the world today, and what we can expect to see from them next season.

Mehdi Taremi - FC Porto - €18m

According to the highly reputable Transfermarkt, FC Porto attacker Mehdi Taremi is the most valuable Iranian footballer, and rightfully so. The 30-year-old has been one of the finest players in the Portuguese topflight ever since his arrival back in the summer of 2019. However, he really stepped it up a notch when he arrived at the Estádio do Dragão the following summer.

In his first season in the famous blue and white shirt, he netted 23 times in 46 games. The following season, he added another 26 goals to his tally as he helped the Portuguese giants to a league and cup double. The recently finished campaign was his most impressive yet, taking his goal output beyond the coveted 30-mark as well as helping his side to a famous cup treble.

In total, Taremi has netted 80 times and provided an additional 49 assists during his time with Porto, and it will come as no surprise that a number of Europe’s biggest clubs have all been interested in acquiring his services. English giants Chelsea and Manchester United as well as UEFA Champions League semifinalists AC Milan were all weighing up a potential move for the prolific attacker throughout 2022, and it remains to be seen whether any club comes in for him throughout the 2023 summer transfer window.

Sardar Azmoun - Bayern Leverkusen - €12m

Striker Sardar Azmoun has been one of the most prolific strikers in Europe ever since he made the move from the Persian Gulf Pro League to Russian outfit Rubin Kazan a decade ago. The Iranian hitman didn’t get the opportunity to shine right away at the Kazan Arena, however, five goals in 15 appearances in his first season and a further six goals in his second campaign wasn’t a bad return. It was in the 2015/16 season with FC Rostov that he began to find his feet, and another nine goals attracted the attention of some of Russia’s biggest clubs.

For the next two-and-a-half years he would bounce between Rostov and Rubin Kazan on a plethora of loan deals and permanent transfers. But in February 2019, he found a home with Russia’s biggest club, Zenit Saint-Petersburg, and it was at the Gazprom Arena where he shot to prominence. He hit eight goals in his first half-season with the club and helped them win their first title in four years, breaking the stranglehold that the Moscow clubs held on the Russian topflight. 

Zenit would achieve dynasty-like status in the Russian Premier League, and Azmoun was responsible for much of their success. The 28-year-old won the title in all four of the seasons in which he played for the club, scoring 62 goals and providing 23 assists in just 104 games in the process. He made the move to Bayer Leverkusen for a bargain €2.5m in January of last year, and as of yet, he has yet to replicate the blistering form he showed in Russia’s second city.

During his 18 months in North Rhine-Westphalia, he has netted just five goals in 44 games, and he will be hoping that the powers that be at the BayArena remain patient with him, rather than ship him out of the club this summer.