Hoops hero Taarabt hangs up his boots

Former QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37. After beginning his career with French club Lens, Taarabt joined the Hoops from Tottenham in 2009, initially on loan, and went on to make 164 appearances for the R's, scoring 34 goals and assisting 41 more. After making his move from Spurs permanent in 2010 the mercurial talent scored 19 goals and contributed 21 assists in 44 appearances as QPR won the Championship in 2011, earning himself the Championship player of the year award. Taarabt left for Fulham following Rangers' relegation in 2013 but, after short spells at Craven Cottage and AC Milan, he returned to Loftus Road for an ill-fated eight-game stint under Harry Redknapp in 2014-15. He then joined Benfica, where he went on to play more than 100 games, with other spells at Genoa in Italy and Al-Nasr and Sharjah in the UAE, while he also won 30 caps for Morocco, scoring four times. Posting on Instagram, external, Taarabt said: "The time has come to close this chapter. "Football gave me amazing memories, let me meet incredible people and live moments I will never forget. "I want to say thank you to every club I played for, every coach, team-mate, member of staff and of course every supporter who showed me love along the way. "There were good moments, difficult moments, mistakes, great nights - everything, but that was my journey, and I wouldn't change it." Pre-match, post-match and topical Hoops content Subscribe and listen for everything you love about Rangers