Moroccan veteran Taarabt recently announced his retirement. After a career full of personal charisma, the Moroccan player, who once captivated Premier League fans with his excellent skills and flair, recently appeared on talkSPORT's "Drive" show to reflect on the unforgettable experiences of his career.

Going out the night before a match

For a key player at a club, people generally expect him to live more professionally, but Taarabt clearly didn't entirely follow that model.

The Queens Park Rangers legend admitted he often went out until the early hours of the morning the night before a match.

He loved London's nightlife so much that talkSPORT presenter and former Tottenham player Darren Bent once suggested that Taarabt's refusal of Liverpool's offer was linked to his lifestyle.

Taarabt admitted: "Sometimes, on match day, I'd still be out."

"For example, if the match was on Saturday, I'd go out Friday night, and then the match was at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and the team would only gather at Loftus Road at 1 p.m."

For many head coaches, especially when it comes to the team captain, this behavior would obviously be difficult to accept. But Warnock at the time didn't lose his temper over it.

Taarabt described how he balanced his social life with his responsibilities to the team:

"At that age, I found it very easy."

"I was the team captain, so before the match, we'd go see the referee with coach Neil."

"He'd tell me: 'Listen, kid, I know you were out last night, but now you just need to get on the pitch and help me win the match.'"

Special relationship with Warnock

The special relationship between Taarabt and Warnock, then manager of Queens Park Rangers, is no secret.

The popular English manager had already revealed that to unlock Taarabt's talent, he had to make concessions to the player on certain rules.

When asked about Warnock's role in his career, Taarabt even joked:

"I think I was more important to him than he was to me!"

Later, Taarabt revealed some of the special treatment he received at Queens Park Rangers.

"Sometimes, I didn't even have to train five days a week. I could just come in on Friday and then play directly on Saturday!"

Taarabt also said:

"Neil Warnock wasn't obsessed with tactics, and sometimes I didn't like his training methods."

"So he'd simply tell me: 'Come when you want, as long as you're happy.'"

Taarabt: Juande Ramos was the worst manager I ever had

If Warnock was one of Taarabt's favorite managers during his career, he didn't hold a good opinion of a manager he had during his time at Tottenham.

In 2007, Taarabt joined Tottenham under Martin Jol's management, but never got consistent playing time, making only 15 appearances in total.

His situation deteriorated further when Juande Ramos took over as manager.

Speaking about his first preseason after joining Tottenham, Taarabt told talkSPORT: "At that time, I thought I was going to start the new season in great form."

"But suddenly, I was dropped from the team and couldn't get any playing time."

"That team was unstable back then, changing managers every six months, which wasn't good for young players."

"The worst was Ramos. I couldn't understand at all what that man was thinking."

"Later, I thought: 'It's better to leave here.'"

Traduit par IA.

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