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Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Jahanbakhsh with Iran in the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Personal information

Full name

Alireza Jahan Bakhsh Jirandeh

Date of birth

11 August 1993 (age 31)

Place of birth

Jirandeh, Iran

Height

1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)

Position(s)

Winger, Attacking midfielder

Team information

Current team

Free Agent

Youth career

2005–2007

Payam Alborz Qazvin

2007–2008

Persian Qazvin

2008–2010

Damash Gilan

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

2010–2011

Damash Tehran

(0)

2011–2013

Damash Gilan

(10)

2013–2015

NEC

(17)

2015–2018

(34)

2018–2021

Brighton & Hove Albion

(2)

2021–2024

Feyenoord

(9)

2024–2025

SC Heerenveen

(3)

International career^‡

2010–2013

Iran U20

(11)

2011–2015

Iran U21

(1)

2013–

Iran

(17)

Medal record

AFF U-19 Youth Championship

Representing Iran
CAFA Nations Cup
Winner	2023 Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan	Team
Winner	2012 Vietnam

*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 April 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is a professional footballer from Iran. He was born on August 11, 1993. Alireza plays as a winger or attacking midfielder. He is also the captain of the Iran national team.

In 2014, Alireza was recognized as one of the best young talents in the Eredivisie, which is the top football league in the Netherlands. During the 2017–18 Eredivisie season, he scored 21 goals. This made him the first Asian player ever to be the top scorer in a major European football league.

Alireza has played for Iran in many big tournaments. He represented his country at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, and 2022. He also played in the AFC Asian Cup in 2015, 2019, and 2023. Before joining the senior team, he played for Iran's under-20 and under-21 teams.

Early Life and Start in Football

Alireza Jahanbakhsh was born in Jirandeh, a small city in Iran. He grew up in Qazvin. He started playing football at a young age.

Club Career Highlights

Starting in Iran

Alireza spent most of his youth playing football in Rasht and Qazvin. In 2008, he joined the youth academy of Damash Tehran. He began his senior career with Damash Tehran in Iran's second division.

In 2011, when he was 17, Alireza moved to S.C. Damash Gilan. He played his first game for them in the Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's top league. He was one of the youngest players ever for Damash. He scored his first goal for the club in January 2012. He played 42 league games for Damash, scoring 10 goals.

Moving to the Netherlands: NEC

In May 2013, Alireza agreed to join NEC, a club in the Dutch Eredivisie. He officially joined them in July 2013.

First Season at NEC

Alireza made his debut for NEC in August 2013. He scored his first goal for the club in a big 8–0 win in the KNVB Cup. In December 2013, he scored two goals and helped with another in a 3–2 league win against AZ Alkmaar.

On the last day of the 2013–14 season, Alireza scored two important goals against Ajax. These goals helped NEC avoid being automatically relegated from the league. He was voted as one of the top young talents in the Eredivisie that season.

Success with NEC

In the 2014–15 season, Alireza continued to shine. He scored a goal in the first game of the season. In August, he scored two goals and made two assists in a 4–1 win. He helped NEC reach the top of the league table.

In October 2014, Alireza was named the Best Player for the first part of the 2014–15 Jupiler League season. He scored a fantastic bicycle kick goal in February 2015. At the end of the season, fans chose him as NEC's player of the season. He was also voted the best player in the Eerste Divisie for the 2014–15 season. He scored 12 goals and made 18 assists that season.

Joining AZ Alkmaar

On August 3, 2015, Alireza signed a five-year contract with another Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar. He wore the number nine jersey. He made his Eredivisie debut for AZ in September 2015.

First Season at AZ

Alireza made his UEFA Europa League debut in October 2015. He got his first assist for AZ in November 2015. He scored his first goal for AZ in January 2016 against his old club, NEC.

Continued Success at AZ

For the 2016–17 season, Alireza changed his jersey number to seven. He scored his first goal of the season in August 2016. In January 2017, he scored two goals and made an assist in a 3–1 win. He was named man of the match. He scored his first goal in a European competition in February 2017. Alireza was named the best winger in the Dutch League for the 2016–17 season.

Top Scorer in Europe

The 2017–18 season was amazing for Alireza. He scored a hat trick (three goals) in April 2018. On the very last day of the season, he scored another hat trick. This made him the top goal scorer in the Eredivisie with 21 goals. He also had 12 assists. This achievement made him the first Asian player ever to be the top goal scorer in a major European league.

Moving to England: Brighton & Hove Albion

Jahanbakhsh warming up with Brighton in August 2018

On July 25, 2018, Alireza moved to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion in England. He signed a five-year contract. He chose to wear the number 16 jersey.

He made his debut for Brighton in August 2018. He played 25 matches in his first season.

First Goals for Brighton

In December 2019, Alireza scored his first goal for Brighton against Bournemouth. He was very emotional after scoring. On January 1, 2020, he scored an amazing bicycle kick goal against Chelsea. This goal was later voted the Premier League Goal of the Month for January. Alireza said it was the best goal he had ever scored.

He continued to score in the EFL Cup in September 2020. He also played in Brighton's historic 3–2 win over Manchester City in May 2021.

Return to the Netherlands: Feyenoord

On July 17, 2021, Alireza joined Feyenoord, a big club in the Netherlands. He signed a three-year contract. He made his debut for Feyenoord in a European match in July 2021. He scored his first two goals for the club in August, helping Feyenoord win 3–0. He made his league debut for Feyenoord in August 2021.

With Feyenoord, he won the Eredivisie title in the 2022–23 season and the KNVB Cup in the 2023–24 season.

SC Heerenveen

On November 6, 2024, Alireza signed a contract with another Dutch Eredivisie club, SC Heerenveen, until the end of the season.

International Career

Jahanbakhsh training with Iran before the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Jahanbakhsh playing for Iran in a friendly match against Turkey before the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Jahanbakhsh playing for Iran against Morocco in the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Alireza Jahanbakhsh playing for Iran in a friendly match against Turkey, 2018

Youth Teams

Alireza played for Iran's under-20 team at the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. He was only 16 at the time. He later captained the under-20 team and scored 5 goals in four games during the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification. He added two more goals at the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship.

He was also called up to Iran's under-23 Olympic team in March 2015 and became their captain. The team qualified for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.

Senior National Team

Alireza was first called up to the senior national team (Team Melli) in October 2013. He made his debut as a substitute in a match against Thailand.

He scored his first goal for the national team in his second game, a 3–0 win against Thailand in November 2013.

World Cup Appearances

Alireza was chosen for Iran's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He played in all three of Iran's matches in the tournament. He was also part of Iran's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He played in all three group matches there as well. For the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he played in Iran's first two games. He received two yellow cards, which meant he was suspended for the final group game.

Asian Cup Appearances

He was also part of Iran's squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. In December 2018, he was selected for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. He scored his first goal in that tournament against Oman. In January 2024, he was named in the Iranian squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. In the quarter-finals against Japan, he scored a penalty in extra time. This goal helped his country win 2–1 and reach the semi-finals.

Playing Style

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is known for being a fast and dangerous player on the field. He has been compared to famous Iranian football legend Mehdi Mahdavikia.

Career Statistics

Club Performance

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Damash Tehran	2010–11	Iranian 2nd Division	12	0	0	0	—		—		—		12	0
Damash Gilan	2011–12	Persian Gulf Pro League	16	2	2	0	—		—		—		18	2
	2012–13	Persian Gulf Pro League	28	8	4	1	—		—		—		32	9
	Total		44	10	6	1	—		—		—		50	11
NEC	2013–14	Eredivisie	27	5	4	1	—		—		2	0	33	6
	2014–15	Eerste Divisie	28	12	3	1	—		—		—		31	13
	Total		55	17	7	2	—		—		2	0	64	19
AZ	2015–16	Eredivisie	23	3	3	0	—		3	0	—		29	3
	2016–17		29	10	4	0	—		9	1	1	1	43	12
	2017–18		33	21	6	1	—		—		—		39	22
	Total		85	34	13	1	—		12	1	1	1	111	37
Brighton & Hove Albion	2018–19	Premier League	19	0	4	0	1	0	—		—		24	0
	2019–20		10	2	1	0	1	0	—		—		12	2
	2020–21		21	0	1	0	3	2	—		—		25	2
	Total		50	2	6	0	5	2	—		—		61	4
Feyenoord	2021–22	Eredivisie	27	4	1	0	—		14	4	—		42	8
	2022–23		28	5	4	0	—		8	3	—		40	8
	2023–24		16	0	1	0	—		5	1	1	0	23	1
	Total		71	9	6	0	—		27	8	1	0	105	17
Heerenveen	2024–25	Eredivisie	19	3	1	0	—		—		—		20	3
Career total			336	75	39	4	5	2	39	9	4	1	422	91

International Performance

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iran	2013	3	1
	2014	8	0
	2015	6	0
	2016	9	2
	2017	8	1
	2018	9	1
	2019	7	2
	2020	0	0
	2021	8	4
	2022	8	2
	2023	8	2
	2024	15	2
	2025	2	0
Total		91	17

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Alireza Jahanbakhsh
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	15 November 2013	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	3–0	3–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2.	24 March 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	India	4–0	4–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	1 September 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Qatar	2–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	13 November 2017	Stadion de Goffert, Nijmegen, Netherlands	Venezuela	1–0	1–0	Friendly
5.	16 October 2018	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Bolivia	1–0	2–1	Friendly
6.	20 January 2019	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Oman	1–0	2–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup
7.	6 June 2019	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Syria	1–0	5–0	Friendly
8.	11 June 2021	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain	Cambodia	1–0	10–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	3 September 2021	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Syria	1–0	1–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	7 September 2021	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Iraq	1–0	3–0
11.	12 October 2021	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	South Korea	1–1	1–1
12.	29 March 2022	Imam Reza Stadium, Mashhad, Iran	Lebanon	2–0	2–0
13.	12 June 2022	Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Algeria	1–1	1–2	Friendly
14.	13 June 2023	Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan	Afghanistan	4–0	6–1	2023 CAFA Nations Cup
15.	17 October 2023	Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Qatar	2–0	4–0	2023 Jordan International Tournament
16.	3 February 2024	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Japan	2–1	2–1	2023 AFC Asian Cup
17.	7 February 2024	Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Qatar	2–2	2–3	2023 AFC Asian Cup