Adel Taarabt (Arabic: عادل تاعرابت; born 24 May 1989) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for UAE Pro League club Sharjah.

Taarabt began his playing career in France at Lens before moving to English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2007.

[6] Within two months, he made his first senior appearance in a Spurs shirt, entering as an 87th-minute substitute for Pascal Chimbonda against local rivals West Ham United in a 4–3 away victory on 4 March.

[7] On 7 April, he made the only other appearance of his loan, in a 1–0 defeat at another local rival, Chelsea; he replaced Teemu Tainio after 64 minutes.

[10] He won a crucial free kick, scored by Dimitar Berbatov in a 4–3 win at Upton Park sparking wild scenes in the away end.

At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, Taarabt was among a group of players not given a squad number by then manager Juande Ramos, and also banned from the first-team training ground.

[11] He was given his old number when Harry Redknapp took over team management, but his only Premier League appearance that season came in a goalless North London derby on 8 February 2009, playing three minutes in place of Aaron Lennon.

[17] Tottenham confirmed in October 2009 that Taarabt could stay at QPR for the season providing that a Premier League club did not make a bid for him in the January transfer window.

"[22] Taarabt was to make his debut as a full QPR player, as the club signed the Moroccan for a reported £1 million.

Some notable moments during the season were against Cardiff City (an away 2–2 draw), where Taarabt picked up a brace, scoring a wonder goal in the process.

The 2011–12 season marked Taarabt's first real foray into the Premier League, for although having been featured in English football's highest tier as a Tottenham player, he had never made a breakthrough into the Spurs' starting XI.

The start of the season held much optimism for both QPR and Taarabt, yet this soon gave way to speculation that he would move away, and his name was associated with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.

[24] This was coupled with the arrival of Joey Barton in the August transfer window, who was immediately installed as captain, taking the role from Taarabt.

During this period, continued speculation linked him with PSG, and Warnock even admitted he would gladly accept an offer for Taarabt if the right one came along.

"[31] Still left out of the side throughout most of November, subsequent injuries to his teammates saw a recall, however, and he was commended for his performance in the 2–0 loss to Manchester United on 18 December.

[33] On 1 October 2012, he scored his first goal of the season against West Ham United with a dipping long-range shot after dribbling past two players.

[35] On 15 December, he scored both goals in QPR's first victory of the 2012–13 season, a 2–1 win over West London rivals Fulham, the second with a mazy dribble ending with a finish on the outside of his foot.

"[36] On 2 January 2013, in QPR's second win of the season, a 1–0 away victory over rivals Chelsea, Taarabt was played in an unfamiliar striker position, gaining the Man of the Match award and assisting the only goal, described as "Pelé-esque".

[39] On 30 January 2014, Taarabt signed for AC Milan until the end of the season, demonstrating the Rossoneri's renewed ambition on the transfer market.

[41] On 19 February, he made his debut in the UEFA Champions League, in the first leg of the round of 16 in a 1–0 loss at the San Siro against Atlético Madrid.

[43] Responding to a journalist's question, QPR manager Harry Redknapp stated after his team's home defeat against Liverpool,[44] "Taarabt is not injured.

[50] After seven months with Benfica's reserve team, Taarabt returned to the first-team in February 2019,[51] making his debut on 30 March 2019 as a 71st-minute substitute in a 1–0 home win over Tondela in Primeira Liga.

[61] On 6 September 2009, he scored his first goal in a competitive international match against Togo in the 2010 World Cup qualification after he broke through the opposing defence in stoppage time.

[62] On 3 June 2011, Taarabt decided to end his international career the day after being dropped to the bench for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Algeria.

[65] Four days later, he was selected to start against Niger and assisted the only goal of the match for midfield partner Walid El Karti.