Esteghlal closing in on ex-Real keeper Adán
Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal is on the verge of signing former Real Madrid goalkeeper Antonio Adán.
The 38-year-old Spaniard arrived in Tehran on Tuesday ahead of the medical tests and signing the contract with the Capital Blues, which will make him the eighth summer recruitment for the club.
Adán has been without a team since parting ways with Sporting CP at the end of the 2023/24 season – after keeping 68 clean sheets in 156 games for the Portuguese giant, lifting the Primeira Liga twice.
An academy product at Real Madrid, Adán made his senior debut for Los Blancos in 2009, though his contribution was limited to 18 appearances across all competitions before he left for Serie A club Cagliari midway through 2013/14 season.
On his return to Spanish football, Adán joined Real Betis, registering 54 clean sheets in 165 outings for Andalusian club, before spending two seasons at Atlético Madrid as a second-choice keeper.
A new number one has been a top priority for Portuguese head coach Ricardo Sa Pinto since he returned to the Esteghlal bench last month, after long-serving skipper Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini failed to agree a new deal with the Blues and left for fellow top-flight club Sepahan.
A dreadful campaign saw Esteghlal finish ninth in the 16-team table of the Iranian top division last season, though it still managed to win the Hazfi Cup trophy in May and secure a place in the upcoming AFC Champions League Two campaign.
Esteghlal has already signed Esmaeil Qolizadeh, Amirmohammad Razzaqinia, Hossein Goudarzi, Aref Aqasi, Uzbek center-back Rustamjon Ashurmatov, Albanian winger Jasir Asani, as well as former Malavan goalkeeper Habib Farabbasi.