Neil Warnock explains how close he came to signing ‘unbelievable’ QPR icon at Middlesbrough

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For many, Neil Warnock remains one of the greatest EFL managers of all time, tasting success with the likes of Sheffield United, QPR and Cardiff City throughout his career, among others.

It’s been over a year since the legendary head coach last took charge of a club, having left Aberdeen in March 2024, but there is no denying just how much of an impact he had on every club he went to.

QPR themselves are perhaps the greatest example of this, as he took over the reins at Loftus Road while the R’s were struggling in the Championship.

He needed a star player to help take the club to new heights, and he found that in one of the ‘EFL GOATS’, Adel Taarabt. Now, Warnock has explained what the ex-AC Milan ace said to him just a couple of years ago.

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Adel Taarabt wanted to reunite with Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough

Now 36, Taarabt is playing his football in the United Arab Emirates for Sharjah FC, but from 2009 to 2015 he was on the books of QPR.

It was in the 2010/11 campaign when the Moroccan proved his talents, scoring 19 goals and registering 21 assists in 44 Championship games under Warnock. They formed a great relationship, and the former QPR boss explained on Sky Sports what Taarabt did while the 76-year-old was Middlesbrough manager.

He said: “He texted me a couple of years ago when I was at Middlesbrough. He texted me with a picture and he looked really fit. He said, ‘Gaffer, I am ready to come again. I will come and play for you again’.

“I texted him back, ‘Adel once in my lifetime is enough. Thank you very much.’ Honestly when you watched him play, the other lads had to come on board.

“But there’s some funny stories about Adel. You’ll hear them. But the ability he had to win a game was unbelievable,” the QPR hero concluded.

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Where Adel Taarabt’s career led him after leaving QPR

There’s no denying that Taarabt was a star at QPR, and it led him to an incredible loan move at AC Milan. However, he found it tough to replicate his form from those early days in the Championship to Serie A.

He was then signed on a permanent deal by Portuguese outfit Benfica. The ex-Tottenham Hotspur talent spent five years with As Águias, but he was often found wanting in terms of output, scoring just twice in 129 appearances.

Since leaving Benfica in 2022, the former EFL star has been playing his football in the UAE, having first joined Al-Nasr SC, before moving to his current club, Sharjah.

There is no denying that Taarabt never truly lived up to his potential, and Warnock was probably right to dismiss his pleas while at Middlesbrough. But QPR fans will always have fond memories of the versatile attacker.