Mehdi Taremi Very Happy to Join Qatar's Al Gharafa


Mehdi Taremi Very Happy to Join Qatar's Al Gharafa

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian national football team's forward Mehdi Taremi is very happy to join Qatari football club Al Gharafa.

Taremi, who joined Al Gharafa in the winter transfer window along with Dutch great Wesley Sneijder, had to sit out of their Week 13 game against Umm Salal, which they won 4-2.

Taremi had been serving a FIFA suspension over a contract dispute with Turkish club Caykur Rizespor dating back to June, 2016, when the player reached an agreement to join the team and later returned to Iranian league reigning champion Persepolis.

In an Interview with Gulf Times, the 25-year-old, who is playing club football for the first time outside his country and has scored 10 goals from 22 matches for the Iran national team, said he is very happy for joining the Qatari club.

"I have been in Qatar for just more than a week and I feel happy. I am getting good support from the club officials and players. I just finished a four-month suspension over a contract dispute. I’m eager to hit the straps and looking forward to make a strong comeback to football with Al Gharafa," Taremi said. 

"I am thrilled that my first match in Qatar will be against a strong side like Al Sadd on Thursday. The team spirit and dressing-room ambience at Al Gharafa are good. I gather the team has improved considerably and the back-to-back victories give all of us a sense of satisfaction," he added.

Asked him what’s the difference between football in Iran and Qatar, Taremi said, "You can’t actually compare the game in Iran with that in Qatar. In our country, there’s a bigger player pool even though the infrastructure isn’t that high. In Qatar also, the quality of the game is high. So are the facilities."

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