Mehdi Taremi Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Mehdi Taremi is an Iranian professional soccer player who has represented, as a striker, Shahin Bushehr F.C. (2010-2012), F.C. Iranjavan Bushehr (2013-2014), and Persepolis F.C. (2014-2018) in Iran; Al-Gharafa SC in Qatar (2018-2019); and Rio Ave F.C. (2019-2020) and FC Porto (2020-Present) in Portugal. With Persepolis F.C., he won the Persian Gulf Pro League (the highest division of professional soccer in Iran) title in the 2016–17 season and the Iranian Super Cup in 2017. The latter trophy is annually decided by a one-off match that is played between the winners of the Persian Gulf Pro League and the Hazfi Cup (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in Iran). With Al-Gharafa SC, he won the Qatari Stars Cup (a key tournament of the Qatari domestic season that involves a round-robin league structure followed by semi-finals and a grand final) in the 2018–19 season. With FC Porto, he completed the double of winning the Primeira Liga (the top tier of the Portuguese soccer league system) and the Taça de Portugal (the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese soccer) in the 2021–22 season. With the club, he also won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in both 2020 and 2022. The trophy is annually decided by a one-off match that is played between the winners of the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal. At the international level, Mehdi represented Iran at the under-20 and under-23 tiers before making his senior national debut in June 2015.

Born Name

Mehdi Taremi

Nick Name

Persian Gulf Boy

Sun Sign

Cancer

Born Place

Bushehr, Iran

Residence

He splits his time between Iran and Porto, Norte, Portugal.

Nationality

Occupation

Professional Soccer Player

Family

• Father – Alireza Taremi
• Siblings – Mohammad Taremi (Older Brother) (Soccer Player). He also has an older sister.

Shirt Number

• 17, 9 – Iran, Persepolis F.C.
• 15, 12 – Shahin Bushehr F.C.
• 9 – F.C. Iranjavan Bushehr, Al-Gharafa SC, FC Porto
• 99 – Rio Ave F.C.

Playing Position

Striker

Build

Athletic

Height

6 ft 2 in or 188 cm

Weight

79 kg or 174 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Mehdi has dated –

1. Sahar Ghoreishi (2018)
2. In March 2020, Mehdi announced that he was in a new relationship and was preparing to get married.

Race / Ethnicity

White

He is of Iranian descent.

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Toned physique
• Side-parted hair
• Sports a rugged beard

Religion

Islam

Brand Endorsements

He has been sponsored by Adidas AG, a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing, and accessories.

Mehdi Taremi Facts

1. Mehdi started his youth career in 2002 when, as a 10-year-old, he joined the youth team of a local club called Bargh Bushehr. In 2006, he joined the youth system of another hometown club called F.C. Iranjavan Bushehr. His senior career started in the summer of 2010 when he joined Shahin Bushehr F.C.
2. In the winter of 2012, he was released by the club to spend his mandatory-but-reduced conscription (a state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, typically a military service) period in a club affiliated with the Iranian military. As he could not join such a club, he was forced to spend his conscription period in a usual garrison. He resumed his senior-level career by joining F.C. Iranjavan Bushehr in the summer of 2013.
3. For 3 seasons in a row (2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17), Mehdi was named the ‘Striker of the Year’ for his performances in the Persian Gulf Pro League. In all of those seasons, he was included in the league’s ‘Team of the Year’. He was also the league’s highest goalscorer in the last 2 of those 3 seasons.
4. In both 2016 and 2017, Mehdi was honored with the ‘Iranian Footballer of the Year’ award for his performances in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons, respectively, of the Persian Gulf Pro League.
5. In June 2017, he scored the 2nd goal in Iran’s 2–0 win over Uzbekistan which ensured that Iran had qualified for successive editions (2014 and 2018) of the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup for the first time in history. The country would go on to extend the streak to 3 by qualifying for the 2022 edition of the tournament as well.
6. On August 23, 2019, in his first Primeira Liga start for Rio Ave F.C., Mehdi scored a hat-trick (the feat of scoring 3 goals (not necessarily consecutive) in a match).
7. 8 days later, he won the team 3 penalties in their match against Sporting CP, all on fouls committed by the same player. Rio Ave F.C. went on to win the match by a 3–2 margin.
8. Mehdi was the Primeira Liga‘s joint-highest goalscorer in that 2019–20 season, with 18 goals to his name. He was also included in the league’s ‘Team of the Year’ for 3 seasons in a row (2019–20, 2020–21, and 2021–22).
9. In February 2021, when he opened the scoring for FC Porto, in the team’s round-of-16 first-leg match against Italian giants Juventus F.C., Mehdi became the first Iranian player to have scored a goal in the knockout phase of the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League (the most prestigious club competition in European soccer).
10. In April 2021, he scored the game-winning goal for FC Porto with a sensational bicycle kick in a famous 1–0 away win over English titans Chelsea F.C. in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, the win was not enough for FC Porto to overturn their 2-0 defeat in the first leg of this 2-legged match. Chelsea F.C. went on to win the UEFA Champions League title that season. As if to rub some salt in the wounds of the fans of FC Porto, Chelsea F.C. won the final match of the tournament at the Estádio do Dragão, the home ground of FC Porto since 2003.
11. After the final, Mehdi’s spectacular aforementioned bicycle kick goal was voted as the best goal of the season and also won UEFA.com‘s ‘Goal of the Season’ award. It was later also nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award which was instituted in October 2009 to honor the legendary Hungarian soccer player and manager Ferenc Puskás. The award is presented annually to the male or female player judged to have scored the ‘most beautiful goal’ of the calendar year.
12. In April 2022, Sporting CP, a long-time rival of FC Porto, published an article on its club website wherein Mehdi was referred to as ‘a true snake charmer, someone from Persia always ready to go and perform circus tricks’. Sporting CP deleted it after widespread condemnation from soccer fans around the world for the casual racism in that article. The article was also criticized by Morteza Damanpak, Iran’s ambassador to Portugal at that time.

Featured Image by Mehdi Taremi / Instagram