Ramin Rezaeian


Ramin Rezaeian Semeskandi is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Persian Gulf Pro League club Foolad and the Iran national team.
He started his career as a right-back, but he often plays as a winger. Rezaeian was Carlos Queiroz's first choice on the right side of the defence of the Iran men's national team in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. Known for his great speed, agility, and athleticism, he is often regarded as one of Iran's best ever fullbacks.
IG raminrezaeian

Early life

Rezaeian was born in Semes Kandeh-ye Olya, a village in Sari County, Mazanderan.

Club career

Saba Qom

Rezaeian played his entire career for Saba Qom before signing for Rah Ahan in 2013. He made 98 appearances for the club scoring seven goals.

Rah Ahan

Rezaeian signed a three–year with the Tehran-based club Rah Ahan in 2013. After several good performances in the 2014–15 season, Rezaeian was recognized as one of the best fullbacks in the league and was called up to the national team. On 3 April 2015, Rezaeian scored his team's first goal in a 2–2 draw against Persepolis. Two weeks later, on 17 April, he scored a brace in a 2–2 draw against Esteghlal Khuzestan.

Persepolis

Rezaeian joined Persepolis on 27 June 2015 with a two-year contract. He scored his first goal for Persepolis in a 2–0 victory against Siah Jamegan. On 26 December 2015, Rezaeian scored a 30-yard free kick against Padideh in stoppage time to earn them a 2–2 draw. After initially signing a contract with Turkish Süper Lig club Rizespor in the summer of 2016, Rezaeian cancelled his contract and re–joined Persepolis.

Oostende

After rejecting an offer from Tehran rivals Esteghlal F.C., Rezaeian joined Belgian club K.V. Oostende on 9 July 2017 with a two-year contract after a successful trial period at the club. Ramin made his debut on 27 July 2017 in a 3rd round Europa League qualifier against French club Olympique de Marseille. Oostende lost the match 4–2 and Rezaeian played the full 90 minutes.

Al Shahania

On 6 November 2018, Rezaeian joined Qatar Stars League side Al Shahania. In his first match with the club, on 8 November, Ramin scored a free kick goal in his team's 5–1 loss to Al Duhail. On 23 November, in his second match with his club, Ramin assisted his team's only goal in a 1–0 win against Al-Kharitiyath.

Al-Duhail

On 22 August 2020, Rezaeian signed a two-year contract with Qatar Stars League champion, Al-Duhail.

Al-Sailiya

After the engagement of the new trainer from Al-Duhail, Rezaein was loaned to Al-Sailiya.

Persepolis

On 12 February 2022, Rezaeian signed a contract with Persian Gulf Pro League champions Persepolis.

Sepahan

On 15 July 2022, Rezaeian signed a contract with Persian Gulf Pro League side Sepahan.

Esteghlal

In December 2024 while with Esteghlal, Rezaeian was summoned by Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran after hugging a female fan, months after goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini was also summoned by the federation and faced a suspension and fine for embracing a female fan in April 2024. In his first game for Esteghlal against Shams Azar in Qazvin, he changed the outcome of the game in favor of Esteghlal with an assist to Mohammad Hossein Eslami in the final minutes, and the game ended with a 2-1 victory for Esteghlal. Rezaian played in his second game for Esteghlal against Malavan in Qazvin and managed to score two goals from the penalty spot for the Blues, and in addition to his first goal for Esteghlal, he was named the best player on the field. He also managed to register an assist in Tehran Derby.
Her first Asian goal with Esteghlal came against Qatar's Al-Gharafa in the AFC Champions League Elite, and on the day Esteghlal defeated their Qatari rival 3-0, he also scored one of these goals, making it her first Asian goal with the Iranian blue team.
She also scored her first goal for Esteghlal in the Hazfi Cup, where she scored in extra time for Esteghlal in the round of 16 of the Hazfi Cup against Shams Azar.

International career

He was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad on 30 December 2014 by Carlos Queiroz. He made his debut against Iraq in a friendly on 4 January 2015. He also played a friendly match against Sweden. Rezaeian scored his first international goal on 17 November 2015 in a 6–0 victory against Guam. In May 2018, he was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

2021

Despite his good performances, he was not invited to the national team.

Style of play

Rezaeian has a high-level skill in long and fast starts. He has a high skill in long passes and corner and free kicks. He also has good scoring skills.
BBC Persian wrote about him: "On the right side, Ramin Rezaeian is the key player of Branko. He is considered Branko's savior with his scoring power in difficult situations."

Personal life

He is popular among Iranian football fans, especially Persepolis fans. His father is a retired doctor and he has only one older sister. Among football players, he is interested in Iranian legend, Ali Karimi. He has announced that he controls his diet and loves ice cream.
On 23 January 2026, in his first game for Foolad, Rezaeian wore black wristbands in solidarity with protesters killed during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests. The next day, he was summoned by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran for this action. He had previously refused to celebrate a goal he scored against Wales during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in solidarity with the Mahsa Amini protests.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
117 November 2015GFA National Training Center, Dededo, Guam3–06–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
210 November 2016Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam, Malaysia8–18–1Friendly
325 November 2022Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar2–02–02022 FIFA World Cup
428 March 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran2–12–1Friendly
516 November 2023Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran4–04–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
621 November 2023Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan1–02–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Persepolis
Al-Sailiya
Sepahan
Esteghlal
Individual