“I WAS RAHEEM STERLING’S IDOL”

Benfica’s league game against Tondela was 71 minutes old when coach Bruno Lage summoned his second substitute from the bench. It was March 2019, and Adel Taarabt was being handed his debut, nearly four years after joining the

Eagles from QPR. Finally, the attacking midfielder was back from the wilderness, after prolonged spells consigned to the

B team and an 18-month loan spell at Genoa.

Tipped for stardom in his younger days, Taarabt’s natural ability has never been in doubt: there have been few more skilful players seen in English football since the turn of the millennium. But up until that 1-0 victory over Tondela at the Estadio da Luz, two months short of his 30th birthday, 47 per cent of the Moroccan’s career appearances had been as a loanee. At Tottenham, Harry Redknapp shipped him out to QPR, first temporarily, then permanently. When Redknapp ended up at Loftus Road himself, he banished Taarabt again – on loan to Fulham and then Milan, labelling the playmaker “the worst professional I’ve ever come across”.

Rarely has a player possessed the same ability to dazzle and frustrate, all at the same time. He’s ready to give FourFourTwo his side of the story and address those infamous quotes from Redknapp…

Your style of play puts a lot of emphasis on flair and skill – do you think entertainment is an important part of football?

Yeah, but that’s how I’ve played since I was very young. Because I come from the streets in the south of France, near Marseille, I started playing when I was five or six. That’s how I played. If