Saeid Ezatolahi Afagh (Persian: سعید عزتاللهی آفاق; born 1 October 1996) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Shabab Al Ahli in UAE Pro League and the Iran national team.
[2] Ezatolahi became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Iran national football team at the age of 19 years and 42 days after scoring in a 3–1 victory against Turkmenistan on 12 November 2015.
Ezatolahi made his debut against Rah Ahan on 26 October 2012 as a substitute just 25 days after his 16th birthday, making him the youngest ever player in the history of the Iran Pro League.
[10] After giving an impressive performance at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in October 2013, European clubs like Besiktas, Lugano and Lausanne Sport were reported to follow the youngster closely.
[12] On 27 August 2014, Ezatolahi signed a one-year contract with Spanish side Atlético Madrid, with an option to extend for four-years following the end of the 2014–15 season.
[19][20][21] Ezatolahi made his UEFA Youth League debut on 10 March 2015 in the quarter-finals, playing the full 90 minutes against Chelsea.
[24][25] On 12 April 2015, Ezatolahi made his debut for Atlético Madrid C in the Tercera Division, playing 30 minutes in a 1–0 loss to Parla.
[27] Ezatolahi's good performances with Atlético Madrid C drew interest from La Liga club Getafe CF.
On 26 July 2016, Ezatolahi made his first start for Rostov in an official game in the first leg of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round against R.S.C.
[34] He is the first scorer of the club in a European match (not counting the UEFA Intertoto Cup) and also the youngest ever Iranian player to score at the Champions League.
[39] In his first league game for Anzhi against FC Rubin Kazan on 6 March 2017, he was sent-off in the 77th minute after receiving two yellow cards, with his team conceding a goal in an 0–1 loss shortly after.
[47] Saeid Ezatolahi participated with the Iran U17 national team in all group matches as well as the round of 16 in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
[51] Ezatolahi was included in the final list for the friendly match against Uzbekistan and the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan.
[52] He scored his first senior national team goal during his fourth cap on 12 November 2015 in a 3–1 World Cup qualifying win over Turkmenistan.