Background and career
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Gilaki: علیرضا جهانبخش; born 11 August 1993) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club Excelsior and the Iran national team.
He began his professional career with Iranian side Damash Tehran in 2010. After moving to Dutch club NEC in 2013, Jahanbakhsh was voted the second greatest young talent of the 2013–14 Eredivisie season the following year. In the 2017–18 Eredivisie season, Jahanbakhsh scored 21 league goals, making him the first Asian player to become top scorer in a major European league.
In July 2018, he moved to English side Brighton & Hove Albion. After three seasons with the Seagulls, he returned to the Netherlands with Feyenoord, where he won the Eredivisie title in the 2022–23 season.
Internationally, Jahanbakhsh is a senior international and former youth international for Iran, making his senior debut for his country in October 2013. He represented the nation at four FIFA World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026) and three AFC Asian Cups (in 2015, 2019 and 2023).
