Ali Karimi

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.

Persepolis

In 1998, Karimi joined Persepolis football club, which won the domestic double in 1999 and the championship again in 2000. He attended a trial with Perugia Calcio, but the transfer was aborted when Perugia deemed the transfer fee too high. There was also reportedly an offer from Spain's Atlético Madrid who were willing to pay Karimi £4.3 million in a four-year contract. Still, Karimi opted for United Arab Emirates side Al-Ahli because he wanted to stay close to home.

Al-Ahli

Karimi signed with Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates in 2001 for a reported salary of $1.3 million for two years. In that season, Al-Ahli managed to win its first trophy, when they became the Winners of the President Cup in 2001–02 season. He scored a league-high 14 goals for Al Ahli in 2004. In June 2020, he was named the best foreign player in the UAE League as well.

Bayern Munich

On 3 May 2005, Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich's website announced that as its first new player for the 2005–06 season, it signed Karimi with a one-year contract, as the third Iranian player of this team, after Ali Daei (1998–99) and Vahid Hashemian (2004–05). After the friendly match between Iran and Germany in October 2004, Karimi was noticed by the Bayern Munich club. He received the best score in kicker magazine after…

Karimi made his debut for Iran national team in October 1998 in a match against Kuwait. That same year, he won the Gold Medal with Iran at the 1998 Asian Games. Karimi scored one of Iran's two goals in the final against Kuwait. He was also one of Iran's main players in its 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. In 2001, after losing to Bahrain and drawing with Thailand, Iran finished second in their qualifying group. It had to play a home-and-away play-off with the Republic of Ireland for a spot at the 2002 World Cup. 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. However, he was also off target on a number of occasions, and Iran lost the match 2–0. They won the return leg 1–0 but missed the final. At the 2004 Asian Cup, Karimi scored five goals, making him joint top scorer. Iran finished third in the overall tournament, behind Japan and China. In the quarter-final, Karimi scored a hat trick in Iran's 4–3 win over South Korea. Karimi was given the prestigious Asian Player of the Year award in 2004, joining his fellow Iranians, Mahdavikia in 2003, Ali Daei in 1999, and Khodadad Azizi in 1996. He also won the 2004 West Asian Football Federation Championship with Team Melli. His performance in the Iran–Germany friendly game for Bam victims held in Azadi Stadium in Tehran in October 2004 was said to be the reason behind Bayern's interest in the player. Coming off a…

Karimi's most famous football feature is his dribbling skills. In 2003, World Soccer described him as a player with "hypnotic movements and ball work". In 2004, kicker magazine called Karimi the "Maradona of Asia" in a report: "He shoots well with both feet, changes direction very quickly and is a player who makes the opposing team dizzy."

During the coaching of Branko Ivankovic, when the Iran national team usually played with a 4-2-3-1 formation, Karimi played mostly in the attacking midfield position. FIFA magazine described Karimi as a professional playmaker in the April 2006 issue. According to FIFA in 2009, Karimi's "stunning dribbles" are one of the characteristics of Karimi's game, and because of this, he is known as "Magician". In a report in 2017, AFC called Karimi the "Maradona of Asia" and introduced him as "one of the Icons of Asian football history". In the continuation of this report, "magical dribbling skills" and "a knack for the unpredictable" are mentioned as characteristics of Karimi's game.

On 25 September 2014, Karimi was named as the assistant coach by Carlos Queiroz in the Iranian national team. However, he stepped down from his role shortly before the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Later in June 2017, he was appointed Naft Tehran manager but has not signed a contract with the team and left the team before the start of the league. However, Karimi resigned with Naft in September. On 1 January 2018, he became the head coach of Sepidrood while Sepidrood was in the bottom two, but he kept this team in the Persian Gulf Pro League.

Sepahan

Karimi joined Sepahan in the summer of 2012. From 2010 to 2012, he was a member of Sepahan under-19 football team. He made his first league appearance in the 2013–14 season. He won the Persian Gulf Pro League with Sepahan in the 2014–15 season.

Dinamo Zagreb

2016–17

On 1 July 2016, Karimi joined Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb on a five-year contract for a reported US$400,000 transfer fee. He is the first Iranian to play in Croatian Prva HNL. Karimi made his preseason debut on 2 July 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute against Romanian club CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu.

Loan to Lokomotiva

Karimi joined Dinamo Zagreb's feeder club Lokomotiva in January 2017 on a 6-month loan. He finally got a chance to show off his power and control in the midfield as he started six games for Lokomotiva, set up multiple goals and scored his first goal in the Croatian league for the NK Lokomotiva on 26 April 2017 in a 1–0 league victory against Istra 1961.

Esteghlal

On 15 July 2018, Karimi joined Esteghlal signing a one-year contract with the club.

Qatar SC

On 1 November 2020, Karimi joined Qatar SC, signing a one-year contract with the club.

Kayserispor

In July 2020, Karimi joined Kayserispor as a free agent.

Youth

Karimi was invited to Iran U-23 training camp by Nelo Vingada in preparation for Incheon 2014 and 2016 AFC U-22 Championship (Summer Olympic qualification). He was named for the Iran U23 and on the final roster for Incheon 2014.

Senior

Karimi was called to the national team in March 2014 but did not play a game. He was called up again to the senior Iran squad for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against India in September 2015. He made his debut against Papua New Guinea on 10 November 2016 in a friendly match. In May 2018, Karimi was named in Iran's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. but did not make the final 23 because of injury. He was included in the final list for the 2022 World Cup by Carlos Queiroz.

Club

As of 24 August 2025

International

As of matches played 21 November 2023

Sepahan

Hazfi Cup: 2012–13 Persian Gulf Pro League: 2014–15 Iran U23

WAFF U23 Championship: 2015