How is ex-QPR and Spurs star Adel Taarabt getting on? | OneFootball

Taarabt was a star performer throughout his spell in West London

Adel Taarabt is one of the main culprits when it comes to football fans naming a stereotypical 'Streets Won't Forget' player from their time on English shores.

Queens Park Rangers are a far cry from their position when the Moroccan last donned the Blue and White hoops, with supporters left to reminisce about the countless sparkling performances the former Tottenham Hotspur man blessed them with in West London.

He made the switch across London on an initial loan deal in March 2009, which was extended into the 2009/10 campaign, before signing for a bargain figure of just £1m, ahead of his breakout season under Neil Warnock, with Taarabt registering an extraordinary tally of 19 goals and 21 assists as the R's romped to the Championship title.

However, it has now been nine years since the enigmatic Taarabt played his last game in this corner of the capital after failing to re-establish himself in the Premier League, mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with the club, which has led him on a rather intriguing career path.

With all of this in mind, FLW looks at how Taarabt's career is currently panning out at the age of 35.

Adel Taarabt's current predicament as he sees out his career in the UAE

Taarabt's footballing career has definitely been one of intrigue, which included loan spells at Rangers' west London rivals, Fulham, as well as AC Milan whilst still contracted to the club, before venturing back into European football after his contract was terminated.

However, after a lengthy seven-year period with Portuguese giants Benfica, which included a temporary return to the Serie A in the form of a two-season stint with Genoa between 2016 and 2018 ahead of eventually making his debut at the Estadio Da Luz four years after signing, Taarabt bid farewell to European football and made a switch to the United Arab Emirates, joining Al-Nasr in September 2022.

Al-Nasr finished ninth during his first season at the club, during which Taarabt accumulated a highly respectable tally of 11 goals and four assists in his first 30 matches, before his contributions for the Dubai-based side increased tenfold last season after renewing his contract at the Al Maktoum Stadium.

Last season, the experienced playmaker captained the side on 20 of his 28 appearances, which included 15 goal contributions in the UAE Pro League - eight goals and seven assists - as Alfred Schreuder's side progressed up to sixth place in the table, with Taarabt front and centre of all things good about the side, similarly to his days in London.

“I’m scoring goals. I’m serious about my football here. Sometimes big names come here and don’t perform," Taarabt told 'The National' back in March.

“I was walking down the beach recently and saw Bobby Zamora. He told me that he couldn’t believe how fit I was and said if I’d had this mentality when I was 20, I would have been one of the best in the world."

So far this season, the former Spurs prodigy has continued his excellent form for Al-Nasr with three goals and two assists in the first two league games of the season, in 5-1 and 4-1 hammerings of Al-Orooba and FC Baniyas.

QPR fans will feel mixed emotions surrounding Adel Taarabt's current form

Given the rich vein of form that Taarabt is currently experiencing out in Dubai, it will give R's fans a lot of pleasure to see him performing to the best of his ability, but will also leave them feeling a tinge of regret after failing to see him cut it in the Premier League.

As he referenced, his former colleague and scorer of one of Rangers' most iconic goals in Zamora, believed that he had the potential to make it to the very top of the game, being just 22 years of age at the time of his most iconic season.

This led to the French-born Moroccan claiming that Chelsea and Arsenal had made enquiries for his services, as well as links with Manchester United, Barcelona and Anzi Makhachkala, the then moneybags of Russian football.

For whatever reason, the 30-time international struggled for consistency in the top flight afterwards and a big-money move never materialised, although his eventual stats of 34 goals and 40 assists in 164 games for QPR prove why he is still talked about in such high regard to this day, before featuring 129 times for Benfica and making 15 appearances in the UEFA Champions League.

Taarabt is very much in the twilight of his career these days, but at the age of 35, has finally found a club and manager that are able to fully get the best out of his skillset, despite many still wondering, what could have been?