Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (born 1983)

Not to be confused with Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (born 1948).

Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari

Khalatbari with Iran in May 2014
Personal information
Full name	Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari Limaki
Date of birth	(1983-09-14) 14 September 1983 (age 38)
Place of birth	Ramsar, Iran [1]
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Winger/ Forward
Club information
Current team	Foolad
Number	99
Youth career
2000–2003	Shamoushak [2]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Shamoushak	14	(1)
2004–2006	Aboumoslem	51	(3)
2006–2011	Zob Ahan	128	(34)
2011–2012	Al Gharrafa	8	(2)
2012	→ Al Wasl (loan)	17	(3)
2012–2013	Sepahan	32	(13)
2013	Ajman	0	(0)
2013–2014	Persepolis	22	(6)
2014–2016	Sepahan	51	(13)
2016–2017	Gostaresh Foolad	13	(0)
2017	Saipa	13	(1)
2017–2019	Padideh	39	(4)
2019–2020	Zob Ahan	12	(1)
2020	Shahr Khodro	10	(1)
2020–2022	Sepahan	31	(1)
2022–	Foolad	3	(1)
National team‡
2005–2015	Iran	60	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 March 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:22, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (Persian : محمدرضا خلعتبری, born 14 September 1983) is an Iranian international football player who currently plays for Foolad. He can play as attacking midfielder, winger and forward.

Club career

Early years

Khalatbari began his career with Shamoushak's youth teams and joined Aboumoslem in the summer of 2004. He helped Aboumoslem reach the Hazfi Cup final where they lost to Saba Qom on penalties.

Zob Ahan

After two years with Aboumoslem, in July 2006, he signed for Zob Ahan, ^[3] where he played important matches and led his team to win the Hazfi Cup in June 2009. During the Summer of 2009, Khalatbari had a trial at FC Köln, however the manager (Zvonimir Soldo) stated that Khalatbari was "lacking physical strength" and that "he might be a problem in Germany",. ^[4] He returned after his failed trial to become one of the most influential players in league and ACL in the 2009–10 season, ^[5] where Zob Ahan reached the Champions League final for the first time in club history.

Al Gharrafa

He left Zob Ahan in June 2011 and signed a contract with Al Gharrafa Qatar. After an unsuccessful half-season at Al-Gharrafa, Khalatbari left the club in the winter transfer window.

Al Ain F.C.

In early 2012, he was moved to Al Ain F.C.,A successful loan from Al Gharafa He Scored 3 goals in 17 caps for Al Ain F.C.

Sepahan and Ajman

Khalatbari playing for Sepahan in an AFC Champions League match against Al-Nasr

On 10 July 2012, he joined Iranian champion Sepahan. He won the Hazfi Cup with Sepahan and became the league's top assistant player with 13 assists. He was also one of the league's top scorers with 14 league goals. Khalatbari had one of the best years in hs career with 17 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions. At the end of 2012–13 season, he moved to Ajman but the transfer was canceled after the renaming of UAE Pro League to UAE Arabian Gulf League. ^{[6] [7]}

Persepolis

Khalatbari in Persepolis Training in September 2013

On 1 September 2013, Persepolis and Ajman reached an agreement with a fee around $800,000 and he joined Persepolis with a two-year contract. ^[8] He made his debut in the Tehran derby match against Esteghlal. His first goal came when he scored a penalty kick in a match against Gostaresh Foolad. His six league goals helped Persepolis to a second-place league finish and a berth in the Asian Champions League. At the end of season, while he had financial problems with Persepolis, he paid one third of Ajman's debt (fee around $250,000) ^[9] and skip his debts (fee around 3,400 million Rials). ^[10] on 15 July 2014, Persepolis released him. ^[11]

Return to Sepahan

Khalatbari playing for Padideh in 2018

On 15 July 2014, Khalatbari returned to Sepahan, signing a two-year contract. ^[12]

Club career statistics

As of 20 October 2018

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2003–04	Shamoushak	Iran Pro League	14	1	0	0	–	–	14	1
2004–05	Aboumoslem		25	0	0	0	–	–	25	0
2005–06			26	3	0	0	–	–	26	3
2006–07	Zob Ahan		19	1	1	0	–	–	20	1
2007–08			25	7	2	0	–	–	27	7
2008–09			28	10	3	2	–	–	31	12
2009–10			26	11	4	1	11	5	40	17
2010–11			28	5	1	0	6	1	35	6
Qatar			League		Emir of Qatar Cup		Asia		Total
2011–12	Al Gharrafa	Qatar Stars League	8	2	1	1	0	0	9	3
United Arab Emirates			League		President's Cup		Asia		Total
2011–12	Al Ain	UAE Pro-League	16	2	1	1	-	-	17	3
Iran			League		Hazfi Cup		Asia		Total
2012–13	Sepahan	Iran Pro League	32	14	5	2	8	1	45	17
2013–14	Persepolis		21	6	2	0	–	–	21	6
2014–15	Sepahan		26	9	1	0	–	–	27	9
2015–16			9	1	1	1	6	0	16	2
2016–17	Gostaresh		20	2	0	0	–	–	20	2
2017	Saipa		13	1	0	0	–	–	13	1
2017–18	Padideh		7	1	0	0	–	–	7	1
2018–19			15	2	2	0	–	–	17	2
	Zob Ahan		1	0	0	0	–	–	1	0
2019–20			2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
2020	Shahr Khodro		14	1	1	0	2	0	17	2
Total	Iran		351	78	20	6	35	7	406	88
Total	Qatar		8	2	1	1	0	0	9	3
Total	United Arab Emirates		10	3	4	1	–	–	14	4
Career total			369	83	25	8	35	7	429	98

• Assists

Season	Team	Assists
05–06	Aboumoslem	1
06–07	Zob Ahan	2
07–08	Zob Ahan	4
08–09	Zob Ahan	14
09–10	Zob Ahan	5
10–11	Zob Ahan	11
11–12	Al Gharrafa	4
11–12	Al Ain	2
12–13	Sepahan	13
13–14	Persepolis	5
14–15	Sepahan	3

International career

Khalatbari in training with Iran

Khalatbari plays as both winger and attacking midfielder for Iran. He's played in the WAFF Championships, 2010 World Cup qualifiers and 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers. He played an important role in securing Iran's spot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup under manager Carlos Queiroz. He was selected in Iran's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Carlos Queiroz. ^[13] However, Khalatbari did not make in the final 23-man squad.

International goals

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	9 February 2011	Al Dhafra Stadium, Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates	Russia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2.	28 July 2011	Galolhu National Stadium, Malé, Maldives	Maldives	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	3 June 2012	JAR Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	15 August 2012	Széktói Stadion, Kecskemét, Hungary	Tunisia	2–2	2–2	Friendly
5.	11 June 2013	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Lebanon	1–0	4–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Attributes

Khalatbari is best known for his technical skill and fast pace on the ball, his vision, and his shooting capabilities.

Honours

Club

Abomooslem

• Hazfi Cup: 2004–05 (Runner-up)

Zob Ahan

• AFC Champions League: 2010 (Runner-up)
• Iran Pro League: 2008–09 (Runner-up), 2009–10 (Runner-up)
• Hazfi Cup: 2008–09

Al Ain FC

• 2012–13 UAE Pro League UAE Pro League Winner

Sepahan

• Iran Pro League (1): 2014–15
• Hazfi Cup: 2012–13

Persepolis

• Iran Pro League: 2013–14 (Runner-up)

Foolad

• Iranian Super Cup: 2021 ^[14]

Country

• WAFF Championship: 2008

Individual

• Iran Pro League top goal assistant: 2008–09, 2012–13

References

1. "Hamshahri". Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
2. "Javan". Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
3. Mohammad Reza Khalatbari at National-Football-Teams.com
4. Cologne close in on Khalatbari
5. Jaamejam
6. Tehran Times Archived 31 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Angle Chronicle". Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
8. Mehrnews: Khalatbari joined Persepolis with a 2-years contract
9. Fars: Khalatbari paid Ajman's third part of debts
10. Perspolisnews.com: Khalatbari skip his debts
11. Khabaronline: Khalatbari released by Perspolis
12. "Sepahan FC: Khalatbari joined Sepahan". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
13. "Team Melli final 30 given to FIFA". Persian Football. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
14. "Foolad beat Persepolis to win Iran's Super Cup". Tehran Times . Retrieved 7 February 2022.

External links

• Mohammad Reza Khalatbari at PersianLeague.com