Born in
Al Hoceima, Morocco, Elyounoussi moved to Norway with his family when he was 11 years old. He started playing football in the club Nylende in
Fredrikstad, and then joined
Trosvik, in which many of the young players in the Fredrikstad youth team have their roots. He was considered to be the greatest talent Fredrikstad has produced in decades. As such he was awarded the Norwegian Young Player of the Year trophy in 2006 and 2007, after two great seasons in the league, and a
Norwegian football cup trophy.
SC Heerenveen Elyounoussi was sought after by various
Premier League clubs in the summer of 2008. However Fredrikstad accepted a bid on around €4 million from French club
Le Mans on 8 July. But Elyounoussi had no interest in joining Le Mans. A few weeks later Elyounoussi signed a five-year contract with
Heerenveen worth €3.5 million, on 22 July. He joined Heerenveen in August 2008. He scored in his debut match against
FC Volendam. He also netted an important equalizer for Heerenveen in their first round UEFA Cup match away against
Vitória F.C., and his second league goal came against
NEC Nijmegen.
Return to Norway On 19 February 2010,
Lillestrøm SK loaned the 21-year-old talented forward until the end of season from SC Heerenveen. On 7 January 2011, Elyounoussi returned to
Fredrikstad FK and
Tippeligaen. Elyounoussi signed for
Rosenborg on 9 August 2012, binding him to the club to the end of the 2015 season. Elyounoussi and
Mikkel Diskerud's transfers was announced at half time during the
UEFA Europa League qualifier against
Servette.
1899 Hoffenheim Rosenborg announced on 18 June 2013 that they had sold Elyounoussi to
Hoffenheim, and bought
Alexander Søderlund from
Haugesund as his replacement. Elyounoussi joined the German side after Rosenborg's match against
Strømsgodset on 22 June.
Olympiacos Olympiacos announced that this club had agreement with
TSG Hoffenheim for signing Tarik Elyounoussi on 26 August with the transfer fee estimated to €1 million. On 11 September 2016, he scored his first goal with the club in a hammering 6–1 home win against
Veria F.C. He played a vital role in the club, in acquiring the 7th consecutive
Super League title.
Qarabağ On 31 August 2017, Azerbaijani champions
Qarabağ FK signed Elyounoussi on loan until the end of 2017–18 season. The 30-year-old Moroccan-born Norwegian international was a member of Qarabağ during the first half of 2017–18 season, on loan from the Reds, but made only seven official performances in all competitions and failed to impress.
AIK On 30 January 2018, Swedish outfit
AIK announced the transfer of Elyounoussi from Olympiacos on a two-year deal; details of the fees involved have not been disclosed. In 2018, he won the Swedish league, Allsvenskan, together with AIK.
Shonan Bellmare On 12 January 2020,
J1 League side
Shonan Bellmare announced the transfer of Elyounoussi from AIK on a two-year deal; details of the fees involved were not disclosed. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 defeat to
Kawasaki Frontale on 26 July 2020. He left Shonan at the end of the
2023 season, having scored five goals in 103 appearances for the Japanese club. ==International career==