Mehdi Torabi (Persian: مهدی ترابی; born 10 September 1994) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis and Iran national team.
![]() Torabi with Persepolis in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Mehdi Torabi[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1994-09-10) 10 September 1994 (age 28) | ||
Place of birth | Eshtehard, Iran | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Persepolis | ||
Number | 9 | ||
Youth career | |||
2012–2015 | Saipa | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2012–2019 | Saipa | 118 | (17) |
2019–2020 | Persepolis | 40 | (12) |
2020–2021 | Al-Arabi | 9 | (2) |
2021– | Persepolis | 51 | (7) |
National team‡ | |||
2015–2016 | Iran U23 | 6 | (1) |
2015– | Iran | 37 | (7) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2022 |
He started his career with Saipa from youth levels. He was promoted to the first team by Mojtaba Taghavi in summer 2012. He made his Persian Gulf Cup debut for Saipa in the 2013–14 season against Mes Kerman as a substitute. His subsequent performances were deemed worthy of a Team Melli call up.
On 1 July 2018, Torabi signed a three-year deal with Persepolis. He was sent on back on loan to Saipa for the first half of the season until Persepolis had served their transfer ban. On 16 December 2018, Torabi officially joined Persepolis' squad and was assigned the number 9.[3]
Torabi scored his first goal for Persepolis in a 3–2 victory over Saipa on 13 April 2019.[4]
He was invited to Iran U23 preliminary camp by Nelo Vingada.[5] He was included in the squad for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship by coach Mohammad Khakpour and he scored his first goal of the tournament in the last group match against China from a 30-yard free kick.
He made his debut against Uzbekistan on a friendly on 11 June 2015 where he scored the lone goal of the match. On 3 September 2015 Torabi came off the bench to score 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.[6]
Torabi has been known to be a supporter of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, having worn a shirt in support of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and wanting to offer him a football as a gift during the Mahsa Amini protests.[7][8][9] In 2019, Torabi lifted his shirt up with a message of support to the government during the 2019–2020 Iranian protests as well.[10]
Because of his views, Torabi is not a popular figure in Iran, in contrast to more independent players such as Ali Daei and Ali Karimi.[10]
Club | Division | Season | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Saipa | Pro League | 2013–14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | _ | 5 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | _ | 25 | 1 | ||||
2015–16 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | _ | 30 | 1 | ||||
2016–17 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | _ | 22 | 4 | ||||
2017–18 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | _ | 28 | 10 | ||||
2018–19 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — | _ | 16 | 4 | ||||
Total | 118 | 17 | 10 | 3 | — | _ | 128 | 20 | ||||
Persepolis | Pro League | 2018–19 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | _ | 23 | 2 | |
2019–20 | 26 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | _ | 32 | 12 | |||
Total | 40 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | _ | 55 | 14 | |||
Al-Arabi | QSL | 2020–21 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | _ | 11 | 2 | ||
Total | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | _ | 11 | 2 | ||||
Persepolis | Pro League | 2020–21 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 7 |
2021–22 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
2022–23 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
Total | 51 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 12 | ||
Career Totals | 218 | 38 | 24 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 259 | 48 |
Iran | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2015 | 7 | 3 |
2016 | 4 | 1 |
2017 | 2 | 0 |
2018 | 10 | 2 |
2019 | 7 | 0 |
2020 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 3 | 0 |
2022 | 4 | 1 |
Total | 37 | 7 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 11 June 2015 | Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 1 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
2. | 3 September 2015 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran | 3 | ![]() | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
3. | 13 October 2015 | 5 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
4. | 7 June 2016 | 10 | ![]() | 3–0 | 6–0 | ||
5. | 11 September 2018 | Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 18 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
6. | 16 October 2018 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran | 19 | ![]() | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
7. | 10 November 2022 | Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran | 36 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 |
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Persepolis F.C. – current squad | |
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Iran squads | |||||||||||||
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