Ilias Chair reacts with one word as QPR icon Adel Taarabt confirms big decision | OneFootball

QPR's Ilias Chair reacted to Adel Taarabt's post on social media that confirmed his retirement from football.

Ilias Chair has described Adel Taarabt as a 'legend' after the former QPR man announced his retirement from football.

The 37-year-old started out with Lens, and he made his professional debut in the 2006/07 campaign, before enjoying a 20-year career that saw the attacking midfielder most recently turn out for Sharjah in the UAE Pro League.

In between, Taarabt played for a host of clubs, including the likes of Tottenham, AC Milan and Benfica, which demonstrated how highly-rated he was within the game.

Adel Taarabt is fondly remembered at QPR

Yet, Taarabt is probably best remembered for his time with QPR, as it was where he really made his name as a player in England.

The R’s supporters will have many great memories of the playmaker, and most will be from the 2010/11 season, which is arguably one of the best we’ve ever seen by a player at this level.

Taarabt scored 19 goals and registered 21 assists as Neil Warnock’s team won the Championship title, but it wasn’t just the end product that made him such a favourite at Loftus Road, as his technical ability and skill was outrageous at times.

Even if he couldn’t replicate that form in the Premier League, there were more magic moments from Taarabt in the blue-and-white hoops, although he was a frustrating figure for teammates and managers on numerous occasions over the years.

Ilias Chair reacts to Adel Taarabt’s retirement message

Nevertheless, Taarabt is very much appreciated by supporters of the London club, and he would’ve also inspired the current generation.

And, one player who clearly had a lot of time for Taarabt was Chair, with the R’s attacking midfielder replying with the word ‘legend’ as well as a love heart after Taarabt’s Instagram post that reflected on his career as he confirmed he would be hanging up his boots.

Even though Chair only joined the R’s in 2017, two years after Taarabt had left, there have always been comparisons between the two.

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Some of that will be down to the fact they both play in the same position, and they’ve also both represented Morocco at international level, but it was clearly a compliment to Chair, who admitted previously that it would’ve been a ‘dream’ to play with Taarabt.

So, it would be no surprise if Taarabt was someone the current QPR number ten has tried to learn from.

Ilias Chair will hope to replicate Adel Taarabt by inspiring QPR to promotion

Following on from that, the aim for Chair will be to do what Taarabt did at QPR by helping them to the Premier League.

Admittedly, he’s going to struggle to get anywhere near the numbers that Taarabt put up 15 years ago, but Chair is someone who can decide games at this level.

The past few years were difficult for Chair, but the 28-year-old has started this season very well, scoring twice for Julien Stephan’s side.

So, he will hope to maintain that form moving forward while remaining fully fit, and with a good squad in place at QPR, there will be a belief that they can make this season a memorable one as they aim to compete for promotion following years of mid-table finishes.