While Team Melli will be hitting the trail again in the next few days , destination Vienna , Austria, many of the players will carry along with them one heavy additional baggage. Club careers are pre- occupying their thoughts and possibly disturbing their concentration at the wrong time.

Domestically and in the aftermath of uncovering players wages in the media, with some very hefty wages that is well above the Iranian high professional pay scales, the public questioned the merits of these wages especially and particularly that the source of money paid to footballers is from Public Fund and not generated by the clubs.

The Minister of sport was highly critical of the situation and under pressure from the parliament and his peers, changes in the pay structure and club managements have ensued. Both the top clubs, Persepolis and Esteghlal will see major management changes, stricter payments to players and coaches, belt tightening policies and proper audit system for accounting those expenses. Persepolis has started the ball rolling with the appointment of a new CEO. Rahimi , the ex- CEO of Sepahan was recently appointed to replace the short stint of Ali Parvin as the boss. Esteghlal will follow suite.

Such changes have not gone unnoticed by the players many of whom still waiting on payment arrears by their clubs. Almost all the clubs in Iran are under debt, some much bigger than others. With the uncertainty raised due to the recent development, many players are concerned and worried while thinking of moving on. As such, the business of players agents is picking up sharply in Iran, with significant activities in the last few weeks.

Much of the negotiations are carried out in secret as no one is willing to discuss anything that might threaten a deal. What is known though, is that many agents will be in Vienna during the Team Melli camp looking for players’ signature. The Qatari clubs have been quite active followed by some German Bundesliga clubs. It is also rumored that the English clubs will be sending some scouts to watch Iran games, but as these things operate, these scouts or agents will hardly reveal any names preferring to operate quietly and in privacy giving the media little indication of their targets.

What the observers expect is a big clear out and club changes of Iranian players after the World Cup. Legionnaire players such as Dejagah , Ghoochannejad, Jahanbaksh and possibly Sardar Azmoun could be on the move. Shojae’s future with Las Palmas is dependent on whether the Canary Island Team is promoted or not.

Many domestic players are looking West. Reza Haghighi is leaving Persepolis to a Bundesliga team pending formalities, Teymourian has many proposals, Nekounam , despite the rumors, will stay with Al Kuwait barring any last minute hitches, Khalatbary is looking at Qatar again, Bakhtiyar Rahmani has many proponents in Doha as well. Ahmed Ale Nemeh is also on the list of Qatar clubs.

With Persepolis and Esteghlal in financial disarray, some player’s migration is expected towards other local clubs. Sepahan is expected to lead the changes along with Persepolis and Esteghlal.

All these developments are coming at a crucial stage for Team Melli while preparing for the FIFA World Cup. With the players’ concerns for their future and naturally some worries of the unknown, the focus and concentration of these players will be affected. Their mental reediness and state of mind need to be at their highest for the biggest show on the earth. The onus is on Team Melli staff and particularly Querioz to ease their worries and channel their effort towards the World Cup and team preparations.