Mehdi Torabi
Iranian footballer (born 1994)

Mehdi Torabi
Torabi with Persepolis in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-09-10) 10 September 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth Karaj, Alborz province, Iran
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Tractor
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)
2021–2024 Persepolis 97 (16)
2024– Tractor 41 (3)
International career‡
2015–2016 Iran U23 6 (1)
2015– Iran 51 (7)
Medal record
Representing  Iran
CAFA Nations Cup
Winner 2023 Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 December 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 September 2024

Mehdi Torabi[a] (born 10 September 1994) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Persian Gulf Pro League club Tractor and the Iran national team.

He began his career at Saipa, and then played for Persepolis between 2019 and 2020. He played for Qatari side Al-Arabi between 2020 and 2021, later rejoining Persepolis. He joined Tractor in 2024 and has been regarded as the club's fan favorite.

Torabi made his first senior appearance in 2015, and represented Iran at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 and 2023.

Early life and family

Mahdi Torabi was born on 10 September 1994 in Karaj, Alborz province, Iran.

Club career

Saipa

Torabi's career began with the Saipa youth squad. He was promoted to the first team by Mojtaba Taghavi in the summer of 2012. He made his debut in the 2013–14 Persian Gulf Cup season against Mes Kerman as a substitute for Kaveh Rezaei.

Torabi playing for Saipa against Persepolis in 2018

Persepolis

Torabi with Persepolis in 2020

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.[2]

Torabi scored his first goal for Persepolis in a 3–2 victory over Saipa on 13 April 2019.[3]

Al-Arabi

In October 2020, Torabi joined Al-Arabi and played in the Qatar Stars League.[4]

Return to Persepolis

In February 2021, he rejoined Persepolis to play in the Persian Gulf Pro League.[5]

Tractor

In the summer of 2024, it was announced that he wanted to transfer to another team for more income but he himself said that he changed his team to improve his mental condition, not to earn money.[6][7]

On 10 July 2024, Torabi joined Persian Gulf Pro League side Tractor.[8]

International career

Youth level

He was invited to Iran U23 preliminary camp by Nelo Vingada.[9] Torabi 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.

Senior level

Torabi in the match between Vietnam and Iran at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup

He made his debut against Uzbekistan in 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 squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[10] In November 2022, Torabi was listed in Iran's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[11]

Personal life

Political views

Torabi is a supporter of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, having worn a shirt in support of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and wanting to offer him a football as a gift during the Mahsa Amini protests.[12][13][14] In 2019, Torabi lifted his shirt up with a message of support to the government during the 2019–2020 Iranian protests as well. The literal translation of his message was "The only path to salvation of country is to follow orders of the leader".[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 December 2025
Club Division Season League Hazfi Cup Asia Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Saipa Pro League 2012–13 1 0 0 0 – – 1 0
2013–14 3 0 0 0 – – 3 0
2014–15 23 1 1 0 – – 24 1
2015–16 27 1 2 0 – – 29 1
2016–17 19 4 2 0 – – 21 4
2017–18 27 10 1 0 – – 28 10
2018–19 14 1 2 3 – – 16 4
Total 114 17 8 3 — — 122 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 — 1 0 12 2
Total 9 2 2 0 — 1 0 12 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 29 7 5 2 — — 34 9
2023–24 28 2 2 1 5 1 — 35 4
Total 97 16 12 5 13 4 1 0 123 25
Tractor Pro League 2024–25 29 3 1 0 8 2 0 0 38 5
2025–26 12 0 1 1 4 1 1 0 18 2
Total 41 3 2 1 12 3 1 0 56 7
Career totals 301 50 31 10 33 8 3 0 368 68

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 5 September 2024.[16]
Iran
Year Apps Goals
2015 7 3
2016 4 1
2017 2 0
2018 10 2
2019 7 0
2021 3 0
2022 6 1
2023 6 0
2024 6 0
Total 51 7

International goals

As of match played 10 November 2022. Iran score listed first, score column indicates score after each Torabi goal.[17]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 June 2015 Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 1  Uzbekistan 1–0 1–0 Friendly
2. 3 September 2015 Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran 3  Guam 6–0 6–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 13 October 2015 5  Japan 1–0 1–1 Friendly
4. 7 June 2016 10  Kyrgyzstan 3–0 6–0
5. 11 September 2018 Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 18  Uzbekistan 1–0 1–0
6. 16 October 2018 Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran 19  Bolivia 2–1 2–1
7. 10 November 2022 Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran 36  Nicaragua 1–0 1–0

Honours

Club

Persepolis

Tractor

Individual

Notes

  1. ^ Persian: مهدی ترابی

References

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: IR Iran (IRN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ چک-تسویه-حساب-با-سایپا-برای-فسخ-قرارداد-ترابی-تحویل-شد [dead link]
  3. ^ "اولین گل ستاره پرسپولیس به تیم سابقش". www.yjc.ir (in Persian). 13 April 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Mahdi Torabi handed Al Arabi No.99". Tehran Times. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Fan favourite Mahdi Torabi back with Persepolis". the-AFC. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  6. ^ "مهدی ترابی به تراکتور پیوست؛ "پول نه، از نظر روحی و فنی نیاز داشتم تغییر تیم بدهم"". ایران اینترنشنال (in Persian). 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  7. ^ "معمای مهدی ترابی؛ رد پیشنهاد ۴۵ میلیاردی پرسپولیس و دریافت ۵۰۰ هزار دلار از تراکتور؟". مشرق نیوز (in Persian). 23 June 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Mahdi Torabi Joins Tractor: IPL - Sports news - Tasnim News Agency". Tasnim News Agency. Archived from the original on 10 October 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  9. ^ "89 بازیکن در اردوی تیم فوتبال المپیک - سایت خبری تحلیلی تابناك". tabnak.ir. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  10. ^ "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia".[dead link]
  11. ^ Greg Lea Contributions from Michael Yokhin (25 November 2022). "Iran World Cup 2022 squad: Carlos Queiroz announces final 25-man team". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Iran Has More Than Just Soccer On Its Mind At The World Cup". defector.com. 1 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Solidarity with Iran revolution prominent across soccer world". World Soccer Talk. 28 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Ele vai: conheça Torabi, atacante habilidoso e adulador de líder supremo do Irã". br.noticias.yahoo.com.
  15. ^ "Footballers Tackle the Regime". iranwire.com.
  16. ^ Mehdi Torabi at National-Football-Teams.com
  17. ^ Mehdi Torabi at Soccerway
  18. ^ "Tractor win 2025 Iran's Super Cup". Tehran Times. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  19. ^ "استقلال 1 - 2 تراکتور: اولین جام فصل با کامبک رویایی" [first cup of season] (in Persian). Varzesh 3. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  • Mahdi Torabi at PersianLeague.com
  • Mahdi Torabi at IranLeague.ir
  • Mahdi Torabi at metrica.ir
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