1. Ali Karimi then played three seasons with Persepolis, winning the Iranian league twice and the Hazfi Cup once with the club.
56 Facts About Ali Karimi
1. 2.
In July 2001, Ali Karimi signed a two-year contract with UAE Pro League club Al-Ahli Dubai.
3.
Ali Karimi ended his playing career in Iran with Persepolis and Tractor Sazi, and with the latter won the Hazfi Cup in the final season of his career.
4.
In international football, Ali Karimi made his Iran debut on 13 October 1998 at the age of 19.
5.
Ali Karimi made 127 career appearances in total, appearing at five major tournaments, including 1998 Asian Games, 2000,2004, and 2007 Asian Cups and 2006 FIFA World Cup.
6.
Ali Karimi is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time.
7.
Ali Karimi is known as one of the most popular athletes in the history of Iran.
8.
Ali Karimi started his professional career with second-division side Fath Football Club in 1997 where training was conducted on the streets with a plastic ball.
9.
In 1998, Ali Karimi joined Persepolis football club, which won the domestic double in 1999 and the championship again in 2000.
10.
Ali Karimi attended a trial with Perugia Calcio, but the transfer was aborted when Perugia deemed the transfer fee too high.
11.
Still, Ali Karimi opted for United Arab Emirates side Al-Ahli because he wanted to stay close to home.
12.
Ali Karimi signed with Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates in 2001 for a reported salary of $1.3 million for two years.
13.
Ali Karimi scored a league-high 14 goals for Al Ahli in 2004.
14.
Ali Karimi received the best score in kicker magazine after Jens Lehmann.
15.
Ali Karimi entered the field in the second half of the first week of the Bundesliga against Borussia Monchengladbach.
16.
Ali Karimi made his 25th appearance for Bayern on 4 March 2006 against Hamburg, which resulted in an automatic 12-month extension to his one-year contract that expired on 30 June 2007.
17.
Ali Karimi played 3 times in the UEFA Champions League before getting injured, scoring in his first game against Rapid Vienna.
18.
In two seasons in Bayern Munich, Ali Karimi played 42 games and became the record holder for the most number of games among the three Iranian players of this team.
19.
Ali Karimi ended his career in Bayern Munich by scoring four goals and sending four assists.
20.
On 3 July 2007, Ali Karimi announced that he had signed a two-year deal with Qatar Sports Club.
21.
Ali Karimi joined Persepolis on loan, and signed with Persepolis on a one-year contract on 6 September 2008.
22.
Ali Karimi scored his first goal since his return to Persepolis in the Tehran derby.
23.
However, Ali Karimi's contract was not extended, reportedly because of a strained relationship with Persepolis chief executive Abbas Ansarifard.
24.
Ali Karimi joined newly promoted Steel Azin on 29 July 2009 on a one-year deal.
25.
Ali Karimi was reported to be paid US$400,000 for the season.
26.
On 4 December 2009, Ali Karimi converted a penalty in the 52nd minute against Pas FC to score his 11th goal of the season.
27.
On 6 March 2010, during his team's match against Saipa, Ali Karimi was sent off for pushing Majid Ayoubi after Ayoubi had fouled him.
28.
Ali Karimi was sacked by the club in August 2010 for failing to observe the fast requirement during Ramadan, but was reinstated a few days later after paying a fine.
29.
Ali Karimi signed a five-month deal for Schalke on 31 January 2011 upon passing a medical examination.
30.
Ali Karimi made his first appearance for the German club on 5 April 2011, coming on for Raul in the second half in a Champions League quarter-final match against Inter Milan before coming on as a substitute against 1.
31.
Ali Karimi won the German Cup for the second time before the end of his contract.
32.
Ali Karimi made his debut in a match against Malavan and scored his first goal in the season for Persepolis in a match against Shahrdari Tabriz.
33.
Ali Karimi extended his contract with Persepolis for another season on 18 June 2012.
34.
Ali Karimi was injured a few times during the season and was unable to perform very well and at the end of the season, he announced his retirement from football.
35.
On 13 June 2013, Ali Karimi returned from retirement and joined Tractor Sazi, signing a one-year contract with Tractor Sazi.
36.
Ali Karimi made his first appearance for Tractor Sazi in Iran Pro League against his former club Persepolis.
37.
Ali Karimi helped Tractor to win the season's Hazfi Cup, his first title in Iranian football after his return from European Football.
38.
On 20 July 2014, Ali Karimi announced his retirement by publishing a letter on his YouTube account.
39.
At the time, Ali Karimi was aged 35 and played professional football for 18 years.
40.
Ali Karimi made his debut for Iran national team in October 1998 in a match against Kuwait.
41.
Ali Karimi scored one of Iran's two goals in the final against Kuwait.
42.
Ali Karimi was one of Iran's main players in its 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.
43.
Ali Karimi started as an attacking midfielder in the first game in Dublin and used his acceleration on the break and his dribbling to attack Ireland's defense.
44.
At the 2004 Asian Cup, Ali Karimi scored five goals, making him joint top scorer.
45.
Ali Karimi won the 2004 West Asian Football Federation Championship with Team Melli.
46.
Ali Karimi was substituted in the 65th minute of the Portugal game and kicked the team's sports bags by the dugout.
47.
In May 2008, Ali Karimi was banned from playing in the national team after he made criticisms towards the IRIFF in the Ardebil training ground, but was reinstated in the national squad after intervention from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
48.
Ali Karimi was invited to the national football team again by Carlos Queiroz in 2011 to play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification and played for the team until his retirement in 2013.
49.
Queiroz later announced that Ali Karimi was one of his best players during his coaching times.
50.
Ali Karimi is currently the third most-capped player and the third-highest scorer of Iran.
51.
On 25 September 2014, Ali Karimi was named as the assistant coach by Carlos Queiroz in the Iranian national team.
52.
Ali Karimi married Sahar Davari in 1999, at the age of 21.
53.
Ali Karimi publicly supported the Mahsa Amini protests against the government of Iran in late 2022.
54.
Ali Karimi posted on Instagram that not even holy water could "wash away this disgrace" of Amini's death.
55.
On 21 December 2022, after Ali Karimi's meeting with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, Steinmeier, emphasized his support for the Iranian protesters.
56.
On 18 January 2023, Ali Karimi publicly tweeted his support for exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi to assume a role as representative of the Iranian people pending a national referendum.