Sporting CP

Rabiu was born in Kano. In summer 2007, he signed for Sporting CP for €450,000, in a joint ownership agreement with his previous club Gateway FC.^[1] Shortly afterwards, it was reported that Premier League sides Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal^[2] were interested in signing him,^[3][4] but nothing came of it.

In late 2007, Rabiu was included by World Soccer in its 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers list^[5] and, in March of the following year, he was featured by InsideFutbol.com in an article on young African footballers including Emmanuel Adebayor, Mario Balotelli and Mikel John Obi.^[6] In January 2009, he appeared in Goal.com's list of 10 African Players to Watch,^[7] and The Times' Football's Top 50 Rising Stars.^[8]

Rabiu participated in the 2008 Bellinzona Under-19 International Tournament with Sporting, with the Portuguese eventually winning the trophy. In the competition, in which he was eventually voted as the best player, he was deployed as a classic number 10 in a 4–2–3–1 system; one year later, he again led the Lisbon team to the final stage of the same tournament.^[9]

In October 2009, Rabiu twice rejected an offer of a professional contract,^[10] and was at that time sent on loan to Real S.C. in the third division. In January 2010 he drew interest from Scottish Premier League's Celtic,^[11] but the deal never materialised due to undisclosed reasons believed to involve work permit issues.^[12]

In 2010, Rabiu left Sporting as a free agent. Subsequently, Dutch side VVV-Venlo tried to sign him in partnership with a United Kingdom-based consortium, but the negotiations broke down due to financial issues.^[13] In December, shortly after Damien Comolli was appointed director of football at Anfield, the player was again linked to Liverpool.^[14]

PSV

In January 2011, Rabiu went on trial with Eerste Divisie club Telstar through an investment group.^[15] After performing well in a friendly against PSV Eindhoven and later being described as one of the best players in the match by the team's coach,^[16] he was quickly offered a contract, pending a valid work permit from the Royal Dutch Football Association.^[17]

However, Telstar could not afford to sign Rabiu even with the help of private investors.^[18] Subsequently, he went on trial with PSV, scoring twice in a 2–0 win against their reserves in a practice match – the first team's coach, Fred Rutten, said: "Ibrahim is fast, technically skilled, physically strong and has a good sense of field position, there is something in that boy";^[19] on 11 March 2011, he agreed to a deal at the Eredivisie side.^[20]

In December 2011, Rabiu's agent reached a mutual agreement with PSV to terminate the player's contract, because of limited first-team action.^[21]

Celtic

On 18 January 2012, Celtic announced that, after a successful trial period, they had agreed terms to sign Rabiu on a three and-a-half-year deal, pending a work permit application which was granted five days later.^[22] He revealed that he turned down a move to clubs in England and Germany to join the Glasgow team, believing it could help him restore his reputation.^[23]

Rabiu made his debut on 3 May 2012, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute in a 1–0 home victory over St Johnstone: his cross gave Gary Hooper the chance to score, but he was offside.^[24]

Kilmarnock

On 2 January 2013, Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels confirmed that Rabiu had signed a two-year contract with the club on a free transfer. The 21-year-old decided to move to Rugby Park in search of regular first-team football;^[25] he also stated that his choice was due to his new team having a similar style to that of FC Barcelona,^[26] whilst Shiels said that the move was good for the player's career and that he would attempt to 'get inside his head' to help him find his form.^[27]

Rabiu made his debut for the East Ayrshire team two weeks after signing, coming on as a substitute for Paul Heffernan in a goalless draw against Dundee United.^[28] He finished his first season with only six appearances.

On 19 October 2013, Rabiu collapsed in the first half of a league fixture against Ross County and was taken to the nearby University Hospital Crosshouse.^[29] The following January, both he and his compatriot Reuben Gabriel were released.^[30]