Mehdi Ghayedi (; born 5 December 1998) is an Iranian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

for

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

club

Kalba Kalba () is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south ...

and the

Iran national team Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Known for his high speed, agility, and flair, he is nicknamed the "Neymar of Asia".

Club career

Iranjavan

Ghayedi was born in

Bushehr Bushehr (; ) is a port city in the Central District (Bushehr County), Central District of Bushehr County, Bushehr province, Bushehr province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Etymology The roots of the n ...

, Iran, and started his career at youth level with Iranjavan Bushehr. He was promoted to the senior squad before the start of the 2016–17 and scored 10 times. He was named as the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

young player of the season for the 2016–17 season in July 2017.

Esteghlal

On 8 June 2017, Ghayedi signed a three-year contract with Esteghlal, upon signing for Esteghlal, he was given the number 16. At the start of the season the

FFIRI The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI; , ''Fadrasion fotbal Jamehori Eslami Iran'') is the governing body for football in Iran. It was founded in 1920. The federation has been a member of FIFA since 1948 and a member of the Asian ...

banned him from playing along with two fellow Esteghlal teammates

Majid Hosseini Seyed Majid Hosseini (; born 20 June 1996) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Turkish club Kayserispor and the Iran national team. Hosseini made his full international debut in 2018 and represented Iran at the 2 ...

and

Omid Noorafkan Omid Noorafkan (; born 9 April 1997) is an Iranian professional Association football, footballer who plays as defensive midfielder or left-back for Iranian club Sepahan S.C., Sepahan, and the Iran national football team, Iran national team. Noor ...

Alireza Mansourian Alireza Mansourian (; born 2 December 1971) is an Iranian association football, football coach and retired player. Club career Mansourian was born in Tehran. During his career, he played for Singapore S.League clubs: Balestier Khalsa FC, Balesti ...

prevented them to join Iran under-23 camp. The deprivation from the FFIRI was finally cancelled on 29 July 2017 after missing the first week of the season and the players eligible to play for the second week of the 2017–18 campaign. He finally made his debut for Esteghlal on 4 August 2017, in a 0–0 draw against

Esteghlal Khuzestan Esteghlal Khuzestan Football Club (, ''Bašgâh-e Futbâl-e Esteqlâl-e Xuzestân''), commonly known as Esteghlal Khuzestan, is an Iranian Football (soccer), football club based in Ahvaz, Iran. The club currently competes in the Persian Gulf Pr ...

entering the match as a substitute for Omid Noorafkan. At the end of the match, even though he played for a few minutes, he was praised for his skills and effort. After making his debut he became the youngest player to play for the club in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

, a record which was held by Omid Noorafkan previously. Ghayedi started his first match for the club in a 3–0 victory over

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

on 6 December. On 25 January 2018, Esteghlal was awarded a penalty after a foul on Ghayedi which was converted by

Server Djeparov Server Reshatovich Djeparov (; Uzbek: ''Server Rishodovich Jeparov'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Сервер Ришодович Жепаров, born 3 October 1982) is a former Uzbek professional football midfielder who is the assistant coach of the U ...

in the 4–0 victory against Pars Jonoubi Jam; he also assisted Ali Ghorbani's goal in the same match. He was named the man of the match for his performance. On 29 January, Ghayedi was involved in a serious car crash in his hometown

along with his friends and his cousin who died a few days later. As result of the accident, he went through a surgery due to his Spleen being damaged by trauma and was ruled out for the rest of the season. A day later Esteghlal beat Sanat Naft in

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

and his teammates dedicated the victory to him. In August 2021, Ghayedi was linked with a move to Qatari side

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...

Shabab Al Ahli

On 23 August 2021, Ghayedi transferred to Shabab Al Ahli

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

on a five-year contract.

International career

Youth

Ghayedi was selected to join Iran under-20 to take part in the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

, under manager

Amir Hossein Peiravani Amir Hossein Peiravani ( born in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian retired footballer and manager. Currently, he is the assistant coach of Tractor Sazi. He is the brother of Iranian international footballers Gholam Peyrovani and Afshin Peyrovani. ...

. After sitting on the bench for Iran's opening match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, he made his tournament debut against

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and played for 18 minutes in Iran's 4–2 defeat. He also played for a few minutes against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

as Iran lost the match and was knocked out of the competition. He won 2018 World cup with Iran, It was Ghayedi's second world cup and Iran's 8 world cup He also won his 14th Ballon d'or in 2020

Senior

On 4 October 2020,

Dragan Skočić Dragan Skočić (born 3 September 1968) is a Croatian professional association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of Iranian club Tractor S.C., Tractor. Skočić played as a midfielder in Croatia, Spain and the UAE for ...

called Ghayedi up for friendly against

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. On 8 October 2020, he made his senior international debut against Uzbekistan.

Style of play

Ghayedi often uses

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

skill for dribbling in one-on-one situations. He is known for his long range shots and Dribbling skills.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ghayedi goal''.

Honours

Esteghlal *

: 2017–18 *

Iranian Super Cup The Iranian Super Cup (Persian language, Persian: سوپر جام ایران, ''Super Jam-e 'Iran'') is an Iranian association football trophy awarded to the winner of a match between the Persian Gulf Pro League's season champion and the winner of ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

most assists: 2019–20 *AFC Best Young Player of the Year: 2020 * AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghayedi, Mehdi 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Bushehr Iranian men's footballers Iranian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers F.C. Iranjavan Bushehr players Shahin Bushehr F.C. players Esteghlal F.C. players Shabab Al Ahli Club players Kalba FC players Azadegan League players Persian Gulf Pro League players UAE Pro League players Iran men's under-20 international footballers Asian Games competitors for Iran Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Iran men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates 21st-century Iranian sportsmen 2023 AFC Asian Cup players 2018 Balloon d'Or winner