Mahir Emreli
Azerbaijani footballer (born 1997)
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Mahir Mahir oğlu Emreli (previously Mahir Anar oğlu Mədətov; born 1 July 1997) is an Azerbaijani professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ekstraklasa club Raków Częstochowa on loan from German club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and the Azerbaijan national team.
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Emreli with Legia Warsaw in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mahir Mahir oğlu Emreli[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Mahir Anar oğlu Mədətov | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 July 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tver, Russia[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Raków Częstochowa (on loan from 1. FC Kaiserslautern) | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2013 | Baku | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Baku | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2021 | Qarabağ | 185 | (67) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Legia Warsaw | 15 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Dinamo Zagreb | 32 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | → Konyaspor (loan) | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 24 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | → Raków Częstochowa (loan) | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Azerbaijan U17 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Azerbaijan U19 | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Azerbaijan U21 | 6 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Azerbaijan U23 | 5 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Azerbaijan | 61 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 August 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:56, 20 July 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Emreli made his professional debut in the Azerbaijan Premier League for FC Baku on 27 September 2014 in a game against Araz-Naxçıvan.[4]
Qarabağ
On 16 July 2015, Emreli signed a three-year contract with Qarabağ FK.[5]
On 23 August 2015, Mahir made his debut and scored his first goal for Qarabağ in a 2–0 away victory against Shuvalan.[6]
Emreli made his European debut in 2016 against Luxembourgish F91 Dudelange in the second qualification round of the UEFA Champions League which ended 2–0 for Qarabağ.[7]
On 15 September 2016, Emreli made his debut for UEFA Europa League group stage game against FC Slovan Liberec.[8]
He scored his first European goal in a 1–0 home victory against Danish Copenhagen in the play-off round of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League.[9]
Emreli made his debut for UEFA Champions League group stage game against Chelsea in Stamford Bridge on 12 September 2017.[10] Mahir made five appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
On 18 August 2020, Emreli, scoring against FK Sileks at the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, celebrated his goal with a salute to the Azerbaijani soldiers serving in the frontline during the border clashes with Armenia.[11]
Legia Warsaw
On 8 June 2021, Legia Warsaw announced the signing of Emreli on a contract until 30 June 2024.[12]
On 17 June 2021, Emreli made his debut and scored his first goal for Legia in a 5–0 friendly victory over SK Bischofshofen.[13] He scored his first officials goals for Legia in a UEFA Champions League first qualifying round match against Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt on 7 July 2021.[14]
On 26 August 2021, during play-off match of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League against Slavia Prague, following an unsuccessful 0–1 first half, Emreli scored two goals and secured Legia's qualification to the group stage of the tournament.[15] He set a unique record by scoring in all the tournaments he participated in.[16]
In December 2021, Emreli was one of the victims of an attack by hooligans on a bus returning after the Ekstraklasa match against Wisła Płock.[17] After this incident, Emreli decided not to play for Legia.[18] On 2 February 2022, he terminated the contract by mutual agreement.[19]
Dinamo Zagreb
Hours after leaving Legia, Emreli was announced as the new player of Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian First Football League. Legia owed Dinamo one million euros because they bought Lirim Kastrati from them in September 2021 for 1.2 million euros, but by December 2021 Dinamo had received only 200,000 euros. Dinamo decided to drop Legia's debt on the condition that Emreli would leave Legia for free and sign for Dinamo.[20]
On 24 August 2022, Emreli played in the play-off match against FK Bodø/Glimt with Dinamo Zagreb winning 4–1 and ensuring a place in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage.[21][22]
Loan to Konyaspor
On 14 February 2023, Emreli was loaned to Süper Lig club Konyaspor until the end of the 2022–23 season with an option of a permanent transfer at the end of the season.[23]
1. FC Nürnberg
On 6 August 2024, Emreli joined German 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg.[24]
International career
Youth
He was part of the Azerbaijan under-23 team that won the football competition at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. He was selected by Yashar Vahabzade for that tournament's squad, appearing in five games and scoring two goal in the final to help defeat Oman 2–1 .[25]
Senior
Emreli made his Azerbaijan debut on 9 March 2017 against Qatar in friendly match.[26][27]
He scored his first goal for Azerbaijan on 29 May 2018, in a friendly match against Kyrgyzstan.[28]
Sponsorship
Personal life
In May 2019, Mahir changed his surname from Mədətov to his mother's family name of Emreli, expressing disapproval at his father's marriage to another woman.[1]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 May 2026[30]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Baku | 2014–15 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 17 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Qarabağ | 2015–16 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 16 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 8 | |
| 2016–17 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 21 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 32 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 24 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 11[c] | 1 | — | 37 | 9 | ||
| 2018–19 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 27 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 14[d] | 0 | — | 45 | 16 | ||
| 2019–20 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 16 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12[e] | 2 | — | 30 | 10 | ||
| 2020–21 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 22 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 7[f] | 2 | — | 32 | 22 | ||
| Total | 126 | 59 | 21 | 7 | 50 | 5 | — | 217 | 72 | |||
| Legia Warsaw | 2021–22 | Ekstraklasa | 15 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14[g] | 7 | 1[h] | 1 | 33 | 11 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 2021–22 | Prva HNL | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2[i] | 0 | — | 10 | 2 | |
| 2022–23 | Prva HNL | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | — | 13 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24 | Prva HNL | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9[j] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 5 | |
| Total | 32 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 10 | ||
| Konyaspor (loan) | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 12 | 2 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | 24 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 11 | ||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 2025–26 | 2. Bundesliga | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| Raków Częstochowa (loan) | 2026–27 | Ekstraklasa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 238 | 83 | 30 | 12 | 78 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 347 | 108 | ||
- Includes Azerbaijan Cup, Polish Cup, Croatian Football Cup, DFB-Pokal
- Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Three appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and five goals in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Polish Super Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, four appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 9 June 2026[31]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan | |||
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 61 | 6 | |
- Scores and results list Azerbaijan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Emreli goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 May 2018 | Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Kyrgyzstan | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 17 November 2018 | Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Faroe Islands | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
| 3 | 8 June 2019 | Bakcell Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Hungary | 1–2 | 1–3 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 4 | 6 September 2019 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales |  Wales | 1–1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 5 | 13 June 2022 | Dalga Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Belarus | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
| 6 | 11 June 2024 | Haladás Sportkomplexum, Szombathely, Hungary |  Kazakhstan | 1–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Qarabağ
- Azerbaijan Premier League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
- Azerbaijan Cup: 2015–16, 2016–17
Dinamo Zagreb
Azerbaijan U23
Individual