Ramin Rezaeian Salehrad Semeskandi (born 21 March 1990) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a Right back for Foolad Club in the Persian Gulf Pro League and Iran national team. He is Iran's highest ever goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup with three goals.
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.
Early life Ramin Rezaeian was born on 21 March 1990 in Samaskandah, a village in Sari County, Mazanderan Province.
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.
His 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.
He also scored his first goal for Esteghlal in the Hazfi Cup, where he 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.
Rezaeian was called up to the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In the group stage match against Wales at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on 25 November 2022, Rezaeian scored the second goal to secure 2–0 victory for Iran.
On June 15, 2026, Rezaeian scored Iran's first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in their opening match against New Zealand which ended 2–2, making him the oldest Asian player ever to score in a FIFA World Cup game. He also assisted Mohammad Mohebi for Iran's second goal and was named man of the match. It was also the first time an Iranian player had ever tallied both a goal and an assist in a World Cup match. On June 26, he netted a goal and was named Man of the Match in a 1–1 draw with Egypt, becoming Iran's all-time top scorer at the World Cup with three goals, breaking the tie with Mehdi Taremi. In addition, his goal against Egypt within the first 14 minutes was the fastest scored by an Iranian player in FIFA World Cup history.
Style of play Rezaeian is skilled in long and fast starts as well as long passes, 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 one older sister. He has announced that he controls his diet and loves ice cream.
Political views After Iranian attacks on Israel during the Twelve-Day War, Rezaeian posted online, saying that "We are the Iranian people and we do not pay ransom to anyone. Long Live Iran."
In April 2026, Rezaeian offered his condolences to the Iranian nation on the assassination of Ali Khamenei by Israeli forces. He also stated that he will fight as a "soldier for Iran on the national team".
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSaba2009–10Iran Pro League20100——2012010–1122110——2312011–1224020——2602012–133140010—324Total9763010001016Rah Ahan2013–14Iran Pro League27232——3042014–1527920——299Total54115200005913Persepolis2015–16Iran Pro League28520——3052016–171241010—144Total409301000449Oostende2017–18Belgian First Division A161202051252Al Shahania2018–19Qatar Stars League11400——1142019–20211300—102213Total32170000103317Al Duhail2019–20Qatar Stars League000031—312020–21102——00102Total102003100133Al Sailiya2020–21Qatar Stars League1132000501832021–22132—0052184Total2452000102367Persepolis2021–22Iran Pro League13010——140Sepahan2022–23Persian Gulf Pro League29720————3172023–242785175——3914Total56157175007021Esteghlal2024–25Persian Gulf Pro League281042101—42132025–2671103010121Total351152131105414Foolad2025–26Persian Gulf Pro League6100——61Career total3837628527717345591
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsIran201571201691201780201811020191002022312023103202470202550202694Total7910
Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rezaeian goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Ramin RezaeianNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 17 November 2015 GFA National Training Center, Dededo, Guam 7 3–0 6–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification2 10 November 2016 Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam, Malaysia 15 8–1 8–1 Friendly3 25 November 2022 Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 47 2–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup4 28 March 2023 Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran 50 2–1 2–1 Friendly5 16 November 2023 57 4–0 4–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification6 21 November 2023 Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 58 1–0 2–2 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification7 29 May 2026 Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey 73 2–1 3–1 Friendly8 4 June 2026 74 2–0 2–09 15 June 2026 SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, United States 75 1–1 2–2 2026 FIFA World Cup10 26 June 2026 Lumen Field, Seattle, United States 77 1–1 1–1 2026 FIFA World Cup
Honours Persepolis Iran Pro League: 2016–17; runner-up: 2015–16 ، 2021–22
Al-Sailiya Qatari Stars Cup: 2020–21 QFA Cup: 2021
Sepahan Iranian Hazfi Cup: 2023–24
Esteghlal Iranian Hazfi Cup: 2024–25
Individual Iran Pro League Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2015–16
Notes
References
External links