Iranian footballer Shojaei close to signing with Greece’s AEK Athens FC
Iranian professional footballer, Masoud Shojaei, has reached an agreement to join Greek football club Athlitikί Énosis Konstantinoupόleos (Athletic Union of Constantinople), commonly known in European competitions as AEK Athens FC.
The 33-year-old defending midfielder will soon be released from the Greek association football club Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis, commonly known as Panionios GSS FC, and Spanish manager of AEK Athens FC, Manolo Jiménez, has expressed an interest in him as a replacement for captain Petros Mantalos.
Mantalos missed out on the rest of the 2017-2018 season after he faced a cruciate ligament rupture during the Super League match against Panionios on October 29.
He jumped to provide an overhead pass that eventually opened up the enemy defense and ended up in the game-winning goal, but he fell hard on his left knee, causing the rupture.
Shojaei started his playing career with Sanate Naft Abadan Football Club, which currently plays in the Persian Gulf Pro League, in 2002.
He has also played in Iranian football club Saipa, al-Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates, Spanish football teams CA Osasuna and Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, plus Qatari sports clubs al-Shahania and al-Gharafa.
Shojaei captained the Iran men's national football team, domestically known as Team Melli, in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification home matches against China and Uzbekistan.
On August 10, 2017, he was banned from Team Melli for participating in a match against an Israeli side.
Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Panionios GSS FC 1-0 in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League match at the Stadio Néas Smírnis stadium in the Greek capital city of Athens on August 3.
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