Mehdi Taremi


Mehdi Taremi is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Super League Greece club Olympiacos and the Iran national team.
A late bloomer, he began his career at Shahin [Bushehr F.C.|Shahin Bushehr] and Iranjavan, and then played for Persepolis between 2014 and 2018; he was Persian Gulf Pro League top scorer on two occasions. He played for Qatari side Al-Gharafa between 2018 and 2019, before joining Rio Ave in Portugal, with whom he was Primeira Liga joint-top scorer in 2019–20. In 2020, he moved to fellow Portuguese side FC Porto and won the domestic double in 2021–22. He went on to continue this success in the 2022–23 season by finishing as the top goal scorer in the league and winning a domestic cup double of Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga. After a short spell at Inter Milan, with which he reached the UEFA Champions League final">2020–21 UEFA Champions League">UEFA Champions League final, he signed for Greek powerhouse Olympiacos.
Taremi made his first senior appearance in 2015, and represented Iran at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 [FIFA World Cup|2018] and 2022, and the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 and 2023.

Early life and family

Mehdi Taremi was born on 18 July 1992 in Bushehr, Iran. He is the third and youngest child of his family. His father Alishah Taremi was an amateur footballer who played in local leagues. His older brother Mohammad is also a football player.

Club career

Early career

Taremi started his career with Bargh Bushehr's Academy before moving on to Iranjavan's Youth Academy.

Shahin Bushehr

Taremi joined Shahin Bushehr in the summer of 2010. He played seven games and scored one goal in all competitions. In the winter of 2012, he was released by Shahin Bushehr to spend his conscription period in a military club, but he failed to join a club and was forced to spend his conscription period in a usual garrison.

Iranjavan

Taremi joined Iranjavan in the summer of 2013 and signed a two-year contract until the end of the 2014–15 season and was given the number 9. Taremi scored 12 times in 22 matches in 2013–14, and became the league's second top scorer after Mokhtar Jomehzadeh.

Persepolis

After becoming the Azadegan League's top scorer, Taremi had offers from many teams. He joined Persepolis in the summer of 2014 and signed a two-year contract through June 2016.

2014–15

Taremi made his debut in 1–1 draw with Naft [Tehran F.C.|Naft Tehran], coming as a substitute for Reza Norouzi in 90th minute. He scored his first goal for the club on 15 August 2014 in a 1–0 victory over Zob Ahan. On 8 April 2015 Taremi scored a penalty in Persepolis 1–0 win in the Asian Champions League over Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. He scored many goals for the club, and provided quality assists to win the Best Striker Award of the 14th Persian Gulf Pro League at the end of the 2014–15 season.

2015–16

Taremi missed the first week of the new season due to suspension, but in his first game back on 6 August 2015, he scored in a 2–1 loss to Esteghlal Khuzestan. Taremi scored twice in a 2–0 week five win against Foolad. This was Persepolis' first win of the season and lifted them out of the relegation spot. Taremi's good performances in the month of August earned him the Navad player of the month as voted by fans. On 18 December 2015, Taremi scored a brace against Rah Ahan in Persepolis' 2–0 victory. He ended the first half of the league as top scorer with nine goals in 12 games.
On 4 April 2016, Taremi scored a brace in a 3–2 victory against Siah Jamegan to keep Persepolis in third place. On 12 April 2016, Taremi was in talks to extend his contract to the end of the 2017–18 season. But eventually, he decided not to renew his contract. On 15 April 2016, Taremi scored a brace in Persepolis' historic 4–2 victory over Esteghlal in the Tehran derby. He became the league's top scorer with 16 goals at the end of the season; despite his good performances, his team failed to win the title at the last week.

2016–17

Before the start of the new season, Taremi announced that he would not extend his contract, to join to a European team. In July 2016, it was reported that Taremi was linked to Süper Lig team Çaykur Rizespor. The move was cancelled after Taremi returned to Iran and signed a two-year contract with Persepolis. He played his first match for Persepolis in 1–0 win over Saipa, replaced Omid Alishah in 77th minute. He also scored his first goal of the season in week 4 against Saba Qom. He scored a brace in 3–1 away win over Sepahan At the end of the season, the club celebrated its tenth Iran Pro League title, and Taremi became top scorer for a second consecutive season with 18 goals.
On 8 May 2017, Taremi scored a decisive hat trick against Emirati side Al Wahda in a 4–2 win to help his team qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2017 AFC Champions League. After his good performances, Taremi was linked with Dinamo Zagreb.

2017–18

Taremi played seven games, scoring on four occasions. During the 2017–18 season, Taremi was banned for four months because of a contract dispute with Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor dating back to June 2016, when the player reached an agreement to join the club and later returned to Persepolis. Persepolis were also banned from signing players for two transfer windows. FIFA ruled in favor of the Turkish club and imposed the ban.

Al Gharafa

On 8 January 2018, Taremi signed an 18-month contract with the Qatari club Al-Gharafa. He scored his first goal in the first match of 2018 AFC Champions League against UAE's Al Jazira. Taremi first scored goal in Qatar League against Al Kharaitiyat on 16 February. On 19 February, he scored a brace against Iranian side Tractor Sazi on the second matchday of the AFC Champions League.

Rio Ave

On 23 July 2019, Taremi signed a two-year contract with Portuguese football club Rio Ave. Taremi scored a hat-trick in his first Primeira Liga start for the club on 23 August 2019 in a match against Aves. On 31 August, Taremi won his side three penalties in their match against Sporting CP, all on fouls committed by Sebastián Coates, as Rio Ave won 3–2.
Taremi finished his first season with 18 goals, joint top with Benfica pair Pizzi and Carlos Vinícius; the latter won the official Bola da Prata trophy for playing the fewest minutes of the three.

Porto

In August 2020, Taremi signed a four-year contract with Primeira Liga club Porto. He scored his first league goal for Porto on 8 November 2020 in a 3–1 home win against Portimonense. There was a foul on Taremi during the 2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in December 2020 which gave Porto a penalty and resulted in their first goal of the match scored by Sérgio Oliveira. Porto went on to win the 42nd edition of the competition 2–0, which gave Mehdi Taremi his first European medal. On 17 February 2021, Taremi opened the scoring for Porto against Juventus in the round-of-16 first leg in the UEFA Champions League. He became the first Iranian to score in the first knockout phase of the competition. On 13 April, he scored the game-winning goal with a spectacular bicycle kick in a 1–0 away win over Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, yet his club lost 1–2 on aggregate. After the final, his goal against Chelsea was voted as the best goal of the season's Champions League. The goal also won the "UEFA.com Goal of the Season" award, and was later nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award. Taremi finished the 2020–21 season with 16 goals and 11 assists. He won his first Primeira Liga title in the 2021–22 season with Porto. His contributions that season included 20 goals and 13 assists. He was the second-highest goalscorer and the third-highest assist provider that season. On 20 May 2023, he scored all four goals in a 4–2 away victory over Famalicão.
Taremi finished the 2022–23 [FC Porto season|2022–23 season] with 22 goals and seven assists in the league, earning the Bola de Prata, the top scorer award, and his second Taça de Portugal title with Porto. He was also named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year, making it the fourth consecutive time.
On 12 May 2024, he scored a 98th-minute goal in a 2–1 victory against Boavista, marking his final appearance for Porto at Estádio do Dragão. Later that month, on 26 May, he scored a penalty in extra time, securing a 2–1 victory over Sporting CP in the Taça de Portugal final">2022–23 Taça de Portugal">Taça de Portugal final.

Inter Milan

On 13 July 2024, Taremi signed a three-year contract with Italian champions Inter Milan, valid until 30 June 2027. Taremi thus became the first Iranian player as well as the second Asian player in Inter Milan's history, following Yūto Nagatomo. On 1 October, he scored his first goal and provided two assists in a 4–0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League league phase. On 26 January 2025, he netted his first Serie A goal in a 4–0 away win over Lecce.
On 6 May 2025, Taremi provided the decisive assist to Davide Frattesi in the 99th minute of extra time, securing Inter Milan's dramatic victory over Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. With this contribution, he became the second Iranian player in history to reach the Champions League final, following legendary striker Ali Daei in 1999.
In July 2025, Botafogo presented a proposal for a two-and-a-half-year contract for Mehdi Taremi, then at Internazionale. Taremi refused the offer in order to negotiate with Premier League clubs.

Olympiacos

On 30 August 2025, it was revealed that Taremi would join Olympiacos for a fee of €2.5 million. A day later, he was announced by the team.
In his Super League Greece|Super League] debut against Panserraikos on 13 September, he scored a brace. In his Greek Cup debut against Asteras Tripolis, he also scored a brace.

International career

Youth

Taremi played for Iran student's national football team in Turkey tournament and scored 9 goals for the team. He was called up by Alireza Mansourian to participate in the team's training camp in Kish Island in 2013.

Senior

Taremi made his debut against Uzbekistan in a friendly match on 11 June 2015. He also came on as a second-half substitute in a World Cup Qualifying match against Turkmenistan on 16 June 2015.
On 3 September 2015, Taremi scored his first senior goals, a brace, in a 6–0 victory over Guam in a 2018 [FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round|2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier]. On 23 March 2017, Taremi scored the winning and only goal in Iran's victory against Qatar in the final round of World Cup qualifying. He followed this up with another goal on 28 March 2017, in a 1–0 victory against China. On 12 June 2017, Taremi scored the second goal for Iran in a 2–0 win over Uzbekistan to seal the country's first consecutive qualification to two World Cups. In June 2018, he was named in Iran's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. With the score tied 1–1 in stoppage time in Iran's group stage match with Portugal, Taremi missed a point-blank shot wide left that would have eliminated Portugal and advanced Iran to the round of 16.
He was also named in Iran's final 26-man squad by Carlos Queiroz for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In the first group stage game, he scored two goals as Iran lost 6–2 to England.
On March 25, 2025, Taremi scored twice against Uzbekistan in a 2–2 draw, a result that secured Iran’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, marking their seventh appearance in the tournament. Later that year, on 8 September, he made his 100th international appearance in a 1–0 defeat against Uzbekistan in the CAFA Nations Cup final.

Personal life

He was in a relationship with Iranian actress Sahar Ghoreishi for months in 2018. In March 2020, Taremi announced that he had started a new relationship and is preparing for marriage.
On 15 April 2022, Sporting CP, a rival of Taremi's then-club Porto, published an article on their club website and referred to Taremi as "a true snake charmer, someone from Persia always ready to go and perform circus tricks". The article was criticized by Porto fans and Iranians, including the Iranian Ambassador to Portugal, Morteza Damanpak. The club later deleted the article.

Political views

Taremi was a supporter of the government of the [Islamic Republic of Iran]. In June 2017, after President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the national team for qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, Taremi donated his shirt to Rouhani. On 8 December 2017, Taremi tweeted a message that called for the destruction of Israel accompanied by a portrait of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Many Israelis urged FIFA to ban Taremi from the 2018 World Cup for violating FIFA's hate speech policy with the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nachshon also condemned the tweet. Taremi subsequently deleted the tweet, although did not apologize. In 2022, IranWire reported that Taremi had "a close relationship" with President Ebrahim Raisi. However, on 10 January 2026, Taremi refused to celebrate a goal he scored with Olympiacos during the Greek Super Cup, stating that "I do not celebrate goals, in solidarity with what the people of Iran are going through."

Career statistics

Club

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
13 September 2015Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–06–02018 FIFA [World Cup qualification – AFC second round|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification]
23 September 2015Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran5–06–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
38 September 2015Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore, India3–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
417 November 2015Guam National Football Stadium, Tamuning, Guam1–06–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
517 November 2015Guam National Football Stadium, Tamuning, Guam6–06–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
67 June 2016Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–06–0Friendly
710 November 2016Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam, Malaysia2–08–1Friendly
823 March 2017Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
928 March 2017Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
1012 June 2017Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
1127 March 2018UCP Arena, Graz, Austria2–02–1Friendly
1224 December 2018Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–1Friendly
1331 December 2018Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar1–02–1Friendly
147 January 2019Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–05–02019 AFC Asian Cup
157 January 2019Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates3–05–02019 AFC Asian Cup
1624 January 2019Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–03–02019 AFC Asian Cup
173 June 2019Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–05–0Friendly
183 June 2019Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran3–05–0Friendly
193 June 2019Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran4–05–0Friendly
2010 October 2019Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran4–014–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2110 October 2019Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran9–0-2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
228 October 2020Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan2–02–1Friendly
237 June 2021Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain3–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2411 June 2021Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain3–010–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
257 September 2021Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar2–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
267 October 2021Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2727 January 2022Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
281 February 2022Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2923 September 2022NV Arena, Sankt Pölten, Austria1–01–0Friendly
3021 November 2022Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar1–42–62022 FIFA World Cup
3121 November 2022Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar2–62–62022 FIFA World Cup
3223 March 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–11–1Friendly
3313 June 2023Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan2–06–12023 CAFA Nations Cup
3413 June 2023Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan3–06–12023 CAFA Nations Cup
3513 June 2023Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan5–06–12023 CAFA Nations Cup
3616 June 2023Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan1–05–12023 CAFA Nations Cup
3716 June 2023Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan2–05–12023 CAFA Nations Cup
3816 June 2023Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan3–15–12023 CAFA Nations Cup
3912 September 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–04–0Friendly
4012 September 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–04–0Friendly
4113 October 2023Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan2–03–12023 Jordan International Tournament
4216 November 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran3–04–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
4321 November 2023Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan2–02–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
445 January 2024Olympic Stadium, Kish, Iran1–12–1Friendly
4523 January 2024Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar1–02–12023 AFC Asian Cup
4623 January 2024Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar2–02–12023 AFC Asian Cup
4731 January 2024Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–1
2023 AFC Asian Cup
486 June 2024Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong, China1–04–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
496 June 2024Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong, China2–14–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
506 June 2024Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong, China3–14–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
515 September 2024Fuladshahr Stadium, Fuladshahr, Iran1–01–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
5219 November 2024Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan1–03–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
5325 March 2025Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran1–12–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
5425 March 2025Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–22–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification
5510 June 2025Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–03–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
561 September 2025Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor, Tajikistan3–03–02025 CAFA Nations Cup

Honours

Persepolis
Al-Gharafa
Porto
Inter Milan
Olympiacos
Iran
Individual