Fábio Santos Martins (; born 24 July 1993) is a Portuguese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for Saudi club

Al-Khaleej FC Khaleej Football Club ( ar, نادي الخليج بسيهات, nādī al-khalīj bi-Sayhāt, Saihat Gulf Club) is a Saudi Arabian multisports club. Located in Saihat, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It is a sport, social, educational club. ...

. He made over 100 appearances and scored over 20 goals in both the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

and Segunda Liga, representing four clubs in the former and three in the latter.

Club career

Born in

Mafamude Mafamude is a former civil parish in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Po ...

, Vila Nova de Gaia to Brazilian footballer Niromar (who played several years in Portugal in the same position), Martins spent most of his youth career at

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

. He played one season with their reserves in the Segunda Liga, his first match in the competition occurring on 12 August 2012 when he featured 86 minutes in a 2–2 away draw against

C.D. Tondela Clube Desportivo de Tondela () is a Portuguese professional football club that plays in Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. They are based in the town of Tondela, located in Viseu District, and play in the Estádio João Cardoso ...

. On 27 August 2013, free agent Martins signed with

C.D. Aves Clube Desportivo das Aves (), commonly known as Desportivo das Aves, or simply as Aves, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila das Aves, Santo Tirso. The club was founded on 12 November 1930 and plays at the Estádio do Clube ...

also in the second division. He spent the 2014–15 campaign with fellow league side

S.C. Braga B Sporting Clube de Braga B, commonly known as Sporting de Braga B or just Braga B, is a Portuguese association football, football team. It is the reserve team of S.C. Braga. Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior te ...

, scoring a career-best 14 goals to help to a final 21st position (still above the relegation zone); it was with

the first team The First Team were the first players known to have played the sport of basketball, having been taught the game in 1891 by James Naismith, who is recognized as the inventor of the sport. The team comprised 18 players who were studying in Springf ...

of the latter that he first appeared in the

, coming on as a late substitute in the 2–0 home victory over

F.C. Arouca Futebol Clube de Arouca () is a football club based in Arouca, Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal. Founded in 1951, the club plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Estádio Municipal de Arouca, with a 5,000-seat capacity. History Founde ...

on 15 February 2015. Martins was loaned to

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal stadi ...

prior to the start of 2015–16. After featuring sparingly, he joined

G.D. Chaves Grupo Desportivo de Chaves, commonly known as Chaves (), is a Portuguese association football, football football team, club from Chaves, Portugal, Chaves currently playing in the Primeira Liga. They were founded in 1949 and currently play at Está ...

in the same situation, netting six times in the league including once in a 2–2 home draw to Sporting CP after a 30-meter chip that caught Rui Patrício off-guard. On 25 October 2017, Martins renewed his contract with Braga until 2022, with the new

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...

being set at

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

25 million. He contributed five goals from 27 appearances – ten starts – during the season, which qualified to the UEFA Europa League after the fourth-place finish. On 22 June 2019, still owned by Braga, Martins moved to newly promoted

F.C. Famalicão Futebol Clube de Famalicão, commonly known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese association football, football club from Vila Nova de Famalicão. Founded on 21 August 1931, its senior team currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tier of Portugu ...

for the upcoming top-flight campaign. He was top scorer for the sixth-placed team during his spell, being sent off against Aves and

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

. Martins was loaned to Al Shabab FC on 25 September 2020, as the Saudi Professional League club was coached by his compatriot Pedro Caixinha. A year later, he signed a two-year deal for Al Wahda FC in the UAE Pro League, for

3 million. On 23 December 2022, Martins returned to the Saudi top tier with

on a free transfer.

International career

All categories comprised, Martins won 28 caps for Portugal at youth level and scored five goals. His only for the under-21s came on 2 June 2013, when he started the 2–0

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

defeat of Croatia held in Rio Maior.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Month: September 2019 *Primeira Liga Forward of the Month: September 2019

References

External links

*
Portuguese League profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Fabio 1993 births Living people Portuguese people of Brazilian descent Sportspeople of Brazilian descent Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Vila Nova de Gaia Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Padroense F.C. players FC Porto B players C.D. Aves players S.C. Braga B players S.C. Braga players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players G.D. Chaves players F.C. Famalicão players Saudi Pro League players Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) players Al-Khaleej FC players UAE Pro League players Al Wahda FC players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates