The Persepolis Courier
Squad10 Aug 2026
A one-man rearguard from Payam Niazmand
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match8 Aug 2026
Persepolis taken apart
0‑3 to Gostaresh Foulad, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
$1.6M settles it between the clubs for Abolfazl Zamani
Esteghlal have accepted the money. What Persepolis do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Pejman Vafaei gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Pejman Vafaei has just signed for Persepolis, and for once the answer mattered.
Market10 Aug 2026
Persepolis spend $1.9M to raise the standard
This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $1.9M has been paid because Pejman Vafaei is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Persepolis
Hossein Kanaani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Mohammad Khodabandelou stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohammad Khodabandelou and Persepolis agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market10 Aug 2026
Persepolis promote Alireza Azmoun from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alireza Azmoun has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
Ehsan Noorafkan steps up from the Persepolis academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ehsan Noorafkan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market One of our own: Saeid Karimi joins the Persepolis first team
- The dugout No hiding place for Mehdi Zare
- Boardroom Nobody left the Persepolis dressing room in a hurry