Mehdi Taremi was named Player of the Month of Liga NOS in January. As usual, the nomination resulted from voting promoted by Liga Portugal, gathering the votes of the coaches of the teams in the top Portuguese division.

The Iranian international forward received 15% of the votes, beating the competition of Pedro Porro (11%), from Sporting, and Stephen Eustáquio (9%), from Paços de Ferreira.

In the first month of 2021, Mehdi Taremi scored three goals in the championship: two in the beating to Famalicão (4-1) and the decisive goal against Farense (1-0). The blue and white number 9 is second in the list of top scorers in the league, along with his team mate Sérgio Oliveira, both with eight goals scored in the main national competition.

Mehdi Taremi, also named Best Forward of Liga NOS in January, is on the cover of the February edition of the magazine Dragões, as he gave his first big interview since moving from Rio Ave to FC Porto, in the summer of 2020: “I did everything to be a professional player at Rio Ave, and then I came here. I had offers from Benfica and Sporting, but I chose FC Porto because this is a strong team, and more famous than Benfica in Iran. Most fans I talked to told me to sign for FC Porto and that was also my preference”, Taremi revealed.

Talking to Dragões, the Iranian international star admitted to be living a “dream” painted in blue and white, and even remembers the magical year of 2004: “when FC Porto won the UEFA Champions League, with Mourinho, Deco, Carvalho, Vítor Baía, Maniche... I was 12 years old, but I remember. I play since I was six years old, with my father, and I tried to watch any match from Europe that I could. I loved football”. Last summer, everything changed in his career: “My time at Rio Ave was good, but everything is different at FC Porto. It’s world class. It’s one of the best clubs in the world, and, if I end my career here, I will be able to say I fulfilled my dreams”. But the biggest of them all is “to win the Champions League”.

Despite being a forward, for Mehdi Taremi “it’s not important who scores, because “when someone scores, the entire team scores”. The number 9, who revealed you have to “work hard” to reach the demand of Sérgio Conceição, also reminded the victory over the Supercup, his first trophy as a Dragon: “I was happy, but I can’t settle on just that. I want to win more trophies for FC Porto. We are a world class team, and we can win any title in Portugal, because we have everything: a good coach, good players, good staff, good medical team... Everything about the club is great. We are like a family and we are united, that’s very important. That’s how it has to be, if we want to become champions. It’s not just the players that matter, it’s the entire club”.

In the future, Mehdi Taremi obviously wants to keep winning titles in blue and white, especially the title of national champion: “For me, it’s an important competition, different from the rest. Several players have already become champions, and the fans already celebrated that title, but I didn’t. I need to see it, what it is like to become champion for FC Porto, to see the reaction of the fans. If we win the championship this season, no one in the world will be happier than me”, the forward stated, admitting he is “eager to see the fans at Estádio do Dragão again”. In Iran, the fame is abundant and so is the passion for football: “Football in Iran is the same as here, almost everyone loves football. In a population of over 80 million people, about 60 million are football fans and follow it just like the Portuguese people. Right now, because I’m here and because there are other Iranian players, in Marítimo and Santa Clara, the fans are following the Portuguese League, and they’re happy for me”.