Masoud Shojaei

Early years

Shojaei was born in Shiraz, and lived most of his life in Abadan and Tehran. He started his career with Sanat Naft Abadan F.C. before moving to Saipa F.C. of Karaj in the Iran Pro League; having signed at the age of 19, he went on to play three seasons with the latter. After the 2006 World Cup, Shojaei moved to the United Arab Emirates and signed for Al Sharjah SC. He scored his first goal for the club in the League on 3 October, against Emirates Club.

Osasuna

On 23 June 2008, after previous attempts from VfL Wolfsburg in Germany and Italy's S.S.C. Napoli, Shojaei signed with Spanish side CA Osasuna for three years, teaming up with compatriot Javad Nekounam. The deal included a €6 million buyout clause for the first 18 months of his contract, being reduced to €3.5 million for the remainder of his stay. Shojaei made his La Liga debut on 31 August 2008, playing 32 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF. During his first two seasons he appeared almost always as a substitute, as the Navarrese managed to maintain its division status; the player remained a regular even after the coaching changed at the club, as José Ángel Ziganda was replaced by José Antonio Camacho. Shojaei – who was addressed by his first name during his spell in Spain – appeared regularly again for Osasuna in the 2010–11 campaign, but also spent one month at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with his national team. In late May, he renewed his contract with the club for another two…

Whilst at Saipa, Shojaei earned a place in Iranian national under-23 team, catching the eye of full side coach Branko Ivanković. He was first called up to play for the latter in November 2004, for a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Laos – it was the only cap he would win until the training camp prior to the finals in Germany, held in Switzerland; he was included in the final squad but only appeared once in the tournament, replacing the injured Mohammad Nosrati in the early minutes of the 1–1 draw against Angola. Shojaei began appearing more regularly in the 2010 World Cup qualification stages, scoring in a 1–1 draw against South Korea in the final game. However, Team Melli did not qualify for the tournament in South Africa. Iran did manage to reach the 2014 World Cup, with Shojaei as a regular starter in the qualifiers. On 1 June 2014, Shojaei was included in Carlos Queiroz's list for the World Cup. He appeared as a substitute in the team's opening draw with Nigeria, and was selected in the starting line-up for the following group matches against Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

On 30 December 2014, Shojaei was called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad. He scored the nation's second goal in its opening 2–0 defeat of Bahrain, in Melbourne. Shojaei captained the squad in 2018 World Cup qualification home matches against China and Uzbekistan. On 10 August 2017, Mohammad Reza Davarzani, Iran's deputy sports minister, said on Iranian state television both Shojaei and…

Shojaei expressed support for the Iranian Green Movement on 17 June 2009, when he wore a green bracelet against South Korea in a World Cup 2010 qualifier along with five other players. During the match, he also wore a green undershirt previewing a possible goal celebration. Shojaei discussed corruption in Iranian football in an interview with Radio Farda, and also spoke out against child sexual abuses in December 2016. He was subsequently summoned to the Ethics Committee of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. A vocal advocate of lifting stadium ban for women in Iran, Shojaei openly expressed his regret that his mother, sister and wife were unable to see him play. He reportedly called for repealing the ban, when he met with president Hassan Rouhani in July 2017.

Shojaei's sister, Maryam, was also an activist campaigning for women's rights in Iran. On 14 January 2026, Shojaei took to his Instagram and criticized FIFA's lack of reaction to the news of several footballers being killed in the 2025–2026 Iranian protests. On 12 March, he supported the defection of several members of the Iran women's national football team to Australia.