Sardar Azmoun

Sardar Azmoun (Persian: سردار آزمون; born 1 January 1995) is an Iranian professional footballer. He plays as a forward for Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Iran national team.^[3]

Sardar Azmoun

Azmoun with Iran at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Sardar Azmoun[1]
Date of birth	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 30)
Place of birth	Gonbad-e Kavus, Iran[1]
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Roma (on loan from Bayer Leverkusen)
Number	17
Youth career
2004–2008	Oghab Gonbad
2008–2009	Shamoushak Gorgan
2009–2010	Etka Gorgan
2010–2013	Sepahan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Rubin Kazan	27	(5)
2015–2016	→ Rostov (loan)	35	(12)
2016–2017	Rostov	27	(7)
2017–2019	Rubin Kazan	40	(9)
2019–2022	Zenit Saint Petersburg	79	(52)
2022–	Bayer Leverkusen	32	(5)
2023–	→ Roma (loan)	4	(0)
International career‡
2009–2011	Iran U17	6	(7)
2011–2014	Iran U20	19	(19)
2015	Iran U23	4	(4)
2014–	Iran	73	(47)
Medal record Representing  Iran CAFA Nations Cup Winner 2023 Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan AFF U-19 Youth Championship Winner 2012 Vietnam WAFF U-15 Championship Winner 2009 Jordan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Azmoun played his first game for the Iran national team in 2014 when he was 19. He played in the 2015, 2019 AFC Asian Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Azmoun is the second-most expensive Iranian player of all-time behind Alireza Jahanbakhsh. He is the youngest Iranian to score in a Champions League game and he is the highest Iranian scorer in the UEFA Champions League, scoring four goals.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 October 2023^[4]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rubin Kazan	2013–14	Russian Premier League	14	4	1	0	2[b]	1	—		17	5
	2014–15		13	1	2	1	—		—		15	2
	Total		27	5	3	1	2	1	0	0	32	7
Rostov (loan)	2014–15	Russian Premier League	11	3	0	0	—		1[c]	1	12	4
	2015–16		24	9	0	0	—		—		24	9
	Total		35	12	0	0	0	0	1	1	36	13
Rostov	2016–17	Russian Premier League	27	7	0	0	14[d]	5	—		41	12
Rubin Kazan	2017–18	Russian Premier League	26	5	2	0	—		—		28	5
	2018–19		14	4	3	1	—		—		17	5
	Total		40	9	5	1	0	0	0	0	45	10
Zenit Saint Petersburg	2018–19	Russian Premier League	12	9	0	0	4[b]	3	—		16	12
	2019–20		28	17	3	0	6[e]	2	1[c]	2	38	21
	2020–21		24	19	0	0	4[e]	0	1[c]	0	29	19
	2021–22		15	7	0	0	5[e]	2	1[c]	1	21	10
	Total		79	52	3	0	19	7	3	3	104	62
Bayer Leverkusen	2021–22	Bundesliga	9	1	0	0	2[b]	0	—		11	1
	2022–23		23	4	1	0	9[f]	0	—		33	4
	Total		32	5	1	0	11	0	0	0	44	5
Roma	2023–24	Serie A	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
Career total			244	90	12	2	46	13	4	4	306	109

1. Includes Russian Cup, DFB Pokal
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in Russian Super Cup
4. Ten appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
6. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 17 October 2023^[5]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iran
	2014	3	1
	2015	11	7
	2016	8	8
	2017	8	6
	2018	10	2
	2019	10	8
	2020	1	1
	2021	9	6
	2022	8	2
	2023	5	6
Total		73	47

As of match played 17 October 2023.^[4]

Scores and results list Iran's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Azmoun goal.

List of international goals scored by Sardar Azmoun

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 November 2014	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	South Korea	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2	4 January 2015	WIN Stadium, Wollongong, Australia	Iraq	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3	15 January 2015	Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia	Qatar	1–0	1–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup
4	23 January 2015	Canberra Stadium, Bruce, Australia	Iraq	1–0	3–3 (6–7 p)	2015 AFC Asian Cup
5	16 June 2015	Sport Toplumy Stadium, Daşoguz, Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan	1–0	1–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	3 September 2015	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Guam	3–0	6–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7				4–0
8	8 September 2015	Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore, India	India	1–0	3–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	24 March 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	2–0	4–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	29 March 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Oman	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11				2–0
12	2 June 2016	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	1–0	3–1	Friendly
13				2–1
14				3–1
15	7 June 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Kyrgyzstan	5–0	6–0	Friendly
16	11 October 2016	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	South Korea	1–0	1–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
17	4 June 2017	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	Montenegro	1–0	2–1	Friendly
18				2–1
19	12 June 2017	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Uzbekistan	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
20	5 September 2017	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Syria	1–1	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
21				2–1
22	10 October 2017	Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia	Russia	1–0	1–1	Friendly
23	27 March 2018	UCP Arena, Graz, Austria	Algeria	1–0	2–1	Friendly
24	31 December 2018	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Qatar	2–1	2–1	Friendly
25	7 January 2019	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Yemen	4–0	5–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup
26	12 January 2019	Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Vietnam	1–0	2–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup
27				2–0
28	24 January 2019	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	China	2–0	3–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup
29	10 September 2019	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
30	10 October 2019	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Cambodia	2–0	14–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
31				5–0
32				7–0
33	8 October 2020	Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	1–0	2–1	Friendly
34	30 March 2021	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Syria	2–0	3–0	Friendly
35	7 June 2021	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain	Bahrain	1–0	3–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
36				2–0
37	15 June 2021	Al Muharraq Stadium, Arad, Bahrain	Iraq	1–0	1–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
38	11 November 2021	Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon, Lebanon	Lebanon	1–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
39	16 November 2021	King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Syria	1–0	3–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
40	29 March 2022	Imam Reza Stadium, Mashhad, Iran	Lebanon	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
41	27 September 2022	Motion invest Arena, Maria Enzersdorf, Austria	Senegal	1–1	1–1	Friendly
42	13 June 2023	Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan	Afghanistan	1–0	6–1	2023 CAFA Nations Cup
43	16 June 2023	Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyzstan	4–1	5–1	2023 CAFA Nations Cup
44				5–1
45	20 June 2023	Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	1–0	1–0	2023 CAFA Nations Cup
46	13 October 2023	Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Jordan	1–0	3–1	2023 Jordan International Tournament
47	17 October 2023	Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Qatar	3–0	4–0	2023 Jordan International Tournament

Youth level

Under-17

International U-17 goals
1	12 January 2010	Tehran, Iran	Turkey	4–3	Win	Friendly
2	12 January 2010	Tehran, Iran	Turkey	4–3	Win	Friendly
3	12 January 2010	Tehran, Iran	Turkey	4–3	Win	Friendly
4	15 January 2010	Tehran, Iran	Japan	2–0	Win	Friendly
5	15 January 2010	Tehran, Iran	Japan	2–0	Win	Friendly
6	16 October 2010	Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	1–0	Win	Friendly
7	24 October 2010	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Oman	5–1	Win	2010 AFC U-16 Championship

Under-20

International U-20 goals
1	4 November 2011	Tehran, Iran	Turkmenistan	4–0	Win	2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
2	4 November 2011	Tehran, Iran	Turkmenistan	4–0	Win	2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
3	8 November 2011	Tehran, Iran	Uzbekistan	2–0	Win	2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
4	21 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Lithuania	3–0	Win	2012 CIS Cup
5	23 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Tajikistan	5–0	Win	2012 CIS Cup
6	23 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Tajikistan	5–0	Win	2012 CIS Cup
7	23 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Tajikistan	5–0	Win	2012 CIS Cup
8	25 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Latvia	1–1	Draw	2012 CIS Cup
9	27 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Moldova	3–0	Win	2012 CIS Cup
10	29 January 2012	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Lithuania	4–0	Win	2012 CIS Cup
11	29 January 2012	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Vietnam	2–1	Win	2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
12	29 January 2012	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Uzbekistan	2–1	Win	2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
13	29 January 2012	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Australia	4–1	Win	2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
14	29 January 2012	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Australia	4–1	Win	2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
15	17 October 2012	Tehran, Iran	Italy	2–4	Loss	Friendly
16	17 October 2012	Tehran, Iran	Italy	2–4	Loss	Friendly
17	7 November 2012	Fujairah, United Arab Emirates	Kuwait	6–0	Win	2012 AFC U-19 Championship
18	10 October 2013	Kerman, Iran	Lebanon	6–1	Win	2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
19	10 October 2013	Kerman, Iran	Lebanon	6–1	Win	2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification

Under-23

International U-20 goals
1	23 March 2015	Tehran, Iran	Nepal	5–0	Win	2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
2	27 March 2015	Tehran, Iran	Palestine	3–0	Win	2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
3	29 March 2015	Tehran, Iran	Afghanistan	6–0	Win	2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
4	29 March 2015	Tehran, Iran	Afghanistan	6–0	Win	2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification

Honours

Zenit Saint Petersburg

• Russian Premier League: 2018–19,^[6][7] 2019–20,^[8] 2020–21, 2021–22^[9]
• Russian Cup: 2019–20^[10]
• Russian Super Cup: 2020,^[11] 2021^[12]

Iran U17

• WAFF U-15 Championship: 2009^[13]

Iran U20

• AFF U-19 Youth Championship: 2012

Iran

• CAFA Nations Cup: 2023

• Jordan International Tournament: 2023

Individual

• CIS Cup top goalscorer: 2012^[14]
• AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2019^[15]
• Russian Football Union No. 1 Players: 2019–20, 2020–21^[16][17]
• Russian Premier League Player of the Season: 2020–21
• Russian Premier League Player of the Month: March 2019^[18]
• Russian Premier League top goalscorer: 2019–20
• IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the Year: 2020^[19]

Personal life

Sardar Azmoun was born into a Sunni Turkmen family. He speaks several languages fluently, including Persian, Turkmen, Turkish, English, and Russian. Azmoun enjoys horseback riding and communicated with his Turkmenistani coach, Kurban Berdyev, in Turkmen during his time at FC Rubin Kazan and FC Rostov. He chose jersey number 69 at Kazan as a tribute to the vehicle registration code of his hometown. Azmoun supports Real Madrid and has said playing for Fenerbahçe has been his childhood dream.^[20]

His father, Khalil Azmoun, is a former Iranian national volleyball player and coach, having managed teams like Golgohar Sirjan and Javaheri Gonbad VC.

Retirement and Return to Football

After Iran's exit from the 2018 World Cup, Azmoun retired from international football at the age of 23. He faced heavy criticism from fans, which he said worsened his mother’s illness. To support his family, he stepped away from the national team but later returned after taking a break.

Humanitarian Efforts

Azmoun is a member of the Humanitarian Association of World Turkmens.

Other Interests

Outside of football, Azmoun is passionate about horses and runs the Serik Horse Complex in his hometown, Gonbad-e Kavus. He owns 52 horses and is involved in thoroughbred racing and breeding. In 2020, he purchased a horse named Serlik for $500,000, and in 2021, he bought another horse for $70,000. Both horses are trained by Australian jockey Michelle Payne.^[21]

Azmoun also owns the Serik Gonbad Kavus Women’s Volleyball Club, which competes in the Iran Women’s Volleyball Premier League as of the 2022–23 season.