Former Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers midfielder Adel Taarabt is living a nightmare after the transfer window closed. The player isn’t getting any game-time in Portugal, and after falling out with Benfica’s manager and president, he can’t find a solution to play.
In an chat with the club’s official channel this week, Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira said Taarabt won’t wear the club’s shirt again: “Taarabt is my and Rui Costa’s fault. But he’s a good player. I don’t understand anything about football, but I have a man by my side who understands a lot, which is Rui Costa.
“We watched and re-watched his games. But there are things lacking. He arrived with six extra pounds, but now he’s at the right weight. After the interview he gave, he certainly won’t wear the Benfica shirt. But we’ll have enough skill to loan him.”
The interview mentioned by Vieira was given by Taarabt to France Football on August 22nd. At the time, the player took the chance to explain the entire situation and begged for a French club to rescue him.
Taarabt said the Benfica president had argued with his coach, trying to get him picked, but Rui Costa would have none of it. The 27 year old complained that he was training with a group of other unwanted players.
The footballer, who seems to attract these kind of situations, also complained about non payment of salary and and then added: “I’ve never had a season like this in my life. I have been in Portugal for a year, but I feel I have already stayed there for six years. To not play, it made me mad.”
Not as mad as the interview seems to have made Luis Filipe Vieira.
Taarabt joined Benfica from QPR last summer on a free transfer, but after one year at the club, he still doesn’t have any official appearances with the red shirt.
In the same interview, he also mentioned he was jealous of Hatem Ben Arfa, and wanted an opportunity like his at Nice. He said he’d accept a move to Marseille, but that never happened.
