Ex-Iran international Ansarifard on Esteghlal radar: Report
Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal is weighing up a move for former Iran international striker Karim Ansarifard, Varzesh3 reported on Friday.
Ansarifard, 35, has been without a team since parting ways with Aris Thessaloniki in July 2024 – after registering one goal and assist apiece in 14 appearances for the Greek top-flight side.
A former player of Iranian clubs Saipa, Persepolis, and Tractor, Ansarifard was first introduced to European club football with LaLiga Osasuna side in 2014.
The Iranian spent the best part of his club career in Europe at the Greek Super League 1, where he scored 58 goals and provided 16 assists in 195 outings across all competitions for AEK Athens, Panionios Athens, Aris, and Olympiacos, helping the latter lift league trophy in the 2016/17 season.
He also had stints at then-Championship outfit Nottingham Forest, Qatari club Al Sailiya, as well as Omonia Nicosia in the Cypriot First Division.
Ansarifard has 30 goals in 104 international caps, with his last appearance for the national team coming as a substitute in a last-eight win against Japan at the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in February 2024.
Should the Iranian striker join Esteghlal, he will be the sixth summer signing for the Tehran Blues, who finished ninth in the 16-team table of the Iranian league last season but managed to win the Hazfi Cup trophy in May and secure a place in the AFC Champions League Two for the upcoming season, before bringing back Portuguese Ricardo Sa Pinto as the head coach last month.