After spending a half season on loan with Eintracht Braunschweig in 2013, Elabdellaoui joined the German side permanently in May 2013.

[6] Scott Sellars, coach of the City's U18 team, stated in an interview with Norwegian TV 2 in January 2010 that Elabdellaoui had "a big future".

[7] Elabdellaoui made an impressive effort at the academy and was awarded a first-team number for the 2010–11 season,[8] but sat on the bench during City's Europa League match against Juventus on 16 December 2010.

[9] On 31 March 2011, the last day of the Norwegian transfer window, Elabdellaoui was loaned out to Strømsgodset in Norway until City's pre-season started in July.

[11] On 1 September, he returned to Strømsgodset where he played until the end of the 2011-season, in a total of 12 matches, scoring one goal and giving one assist.

[15] In June 2012, Elabdellaoui signed a two-year contract with City, and was loaned to the Dutch club Feyenoord for the 2012–13 season.

[18][19] Guidetti said that Elabdellaoui was a perfect fit for Feyenoord because he was physically strong, technically well-equipped and a fast player.

[22] He wanted to play regularly and realized that his chances at Feyenoord would be limited, where he were competing against the right back and the right wing at the Netherlands national team.

[30][31] On 20 January 2017, Elabdellaoui signed a loan deal with Hull City, linking him with his international teammates Markus Henriksen and Adama Diomande.

[33] Elabdellaoui's form during the 2018–19 season attracted interest from other clubs, though Olympiacos said they would have had to offer a minimum of 5 million euros.

[39] Following his departure from Olympiacos, Elabdellaoui signed a three-year deal with Turkish club Galatasaray worth a reported €4,050,000 in salary over the course of his contract.