Fábio Miguel Malheiro Paím (born 15 February 1988) is a Portuguese former professional

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 ...

who played as a winger. Touted as a promising player at a young age while he was in

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional fo ...

, including by

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

who was also a

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

graduate at the club, he would later

fail Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...

to make any significant impact in the sport. After an unsuccessful four-month loan spell at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

in 2008, he went on to play for a host of minor teams in a variety of countries, without settling anywhere.

Club career

Born in

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has ...

Lisbon District Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cu ...

, Paím was once regarded as the most promising young player in Portugal by

, who said upon arriving at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

: "If you think I'm good, just wait until you see Fábio Paím". He joined

's youth system at the age of 9, before making his professional debut in 2007 on loan at

C.D. Olivais e Moscavide Clube Desportivo dos Olivais e Moscavide is a centenary club located in the eastern area of Lisbon that distinguishes itself in practice in different levels of football, basketball, American Football and Table Football, in addition to developing ...

alongside Sporting teammate

Bruno Pereirinha Bruno Alexandre Marques Pereirinha (born 2 March 1988) is a Portuguese former footballer. He played mainly as a right midfielder, also being able to operate as an attacking right-back. He spent most of his professional career with Sporting CP, ...

. He spent the 2007–08 season with two teams, making his

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 ...

debut with F.C. Paços de Ferreira after starting with

C.D. Trofense Clube Desportivo Trofense (), commonly known as Trofense, is a Portuguese football club based in Trofa, Portugal. Founded in 1930, it plays in Segunda Liga, holding home games at '' Estádio do Clube Desportivo Trofense'', with a capacity of 5,0 ...

in the Segunda Liga. Paím moved to

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and no ...

in August 2008, but only appeared for their reserves during a four-month spell. On 11 December he left the English club and moved, yet again on loan, to

Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atla ...

. Coach Carlos Brito decided not to keep him mainly due to his high salary, and the player did not manage to attract any interest before the end of winter

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer ...

, spending the rest of the campaign unattached. On 25 September 2009, both Sporting and

Real S.C. Real Sport Clube is a Portuguese football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popu ...

– which had

Filipe Ramos Filipe Manuel Esteves Ramos (born 21 April 1970 in Luanda, Angola), known simply as Filipe, is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and a current manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization ...

, a former Sporting player, as a coach, with the side competing in the third tier – agreed to a one-year loan deal until the end of 2009–10, making Paím the ninth Sporting player loaned out to that team. In the 2010 off-season, without any official appearances to his credit, the 22-year-old left the

Estádio José Alvalade Estádio José Alvalade is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade (1885–1918), the founder and first club m ...

for good, signing with

S.C.U. Torreense Sport Clube União Torreense is a Portuguese sports club, best known for its association football section, founded in Torres Vedras in 1917, as Sport União Torreense. History It participated six times in the Portuguese Liga (last in 1991–92 ...

of the same league. He left after only a couple of months, spending the following years in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

with

C.D. Primeiro de Agosto Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto is a multisports club from Luanda, Angola. The club, founded 1 August 1977, is attached to the Angolan armed forces, which is its sponsor. Its main team competes in men's football, and its professional basketbal ...

and

S.L. Benfica (Luanda) Sport Luanda e Benfica, commonly known as Benfica de Luanda, or simply as Benfica, is a football club from Luanda, Angola. The club was established as the Luanda affiliate of SL Benfica of Portugal, and shares the same colours. The logo is als ...

. Paím joined

C.F. Benfica Clube Futebol Benfica (), commonly known as Futebol Benfica, or simply as ''Fofó'' (), is a Portuguese sports club based in the Benfica neighborhood of Lisbon. The club was founded on 23 March 1933; however, the origins of the club can be t ...

of the Portuguese third division for the 2012–13 season. After some months trying to regain match fitness, he made his official debut against

C.D. Mafra Clube Desportivo Mafra is a Portuguese football club, currently playing in the Liga Bwin. They are based in the town of Mafra and own Campo Doutor Mário Silveira stadium, but the games are played in Estádio Municipal de Mafra. Founded in 196 ...

; in December 2012, however, he moved teams and countries again, penning a two-year deal with

Al Kharaitiyat SC Al Kharaitiyat Sport Club ( ar, نادي الخريطيات) is a Qatari sports club based in the town of Al Kharaitiyat, best known for its football team of the Qatari Second Division. They won the Second Division in 2004 and played in the Q ...

of the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...

. On 19 August 2014, Paím signed a two-year contract for

Mosta F.C. Mosta Football Club is a Maltese football club from the town of Mosta. The team played four seasons in Malta's highest league 1974–75, 1987–88, 2002–03 and 2005–06. They achieved promotion to the Maltese Premier League again in 2010–11 ...

in the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta ( colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Associ ...

. In April of the following year, he joined

FK Nevėžis FK Nevėžis is an association football club from the city of Kėdainiai, Lithuania. Achievements *Three times Lithuanian champion (1966, 1972, 1973). *Twice runner-up (1968, 1969). *Three times won Bronze medals (1967, 1970, 1979). Parti ...

in Lithuania. In the summer of 2015, Paím moved to

Union 05 Kayl-Tétange Union 05 Käl Téiteng or Union 05 Football Club Kayl-Tétange is a football club, based in the commune of Kayl, in south-western Luxembourg. Union 05 play their home games at the Stade Victor Marchal. History The club was formed in 2005 aft ...

in Luxembourg's

division two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

. He was dismissed from the team in September, for "unprofessional behavior". On 10 November 2017, after a fleeting spell in Brazilian amateur football, Paím signed with the reserves of

Leixões S.C. Leixões Sport Club, commonly known as Leixões (), is a Portuguese sports club from Matosinhos. It is organised into several departments for many sports, such as football, boxing, karate, volleyball, swimming and billiards. It is most well k ...

in the

Porto Football Association The Porto Football Association (Portuguese: Associação de Futebol do Porto; abbreviated as ''AF Porto'') is the district governing body for the all football and futsal competitions in the Portuguese district of Porto. It is also the regulator o ...

International career

Paím won 42

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

across all youth levels, scoring seven goals. Of Angolan descent, as his parents hailed from

Huambo Province Huambo is a province of Angola. With an area of 34,270 km2, it is one of the geographically smaller provinces, situated in the Central Region approximately 450 km south east of the capital, Luanda. The province had a population of 2,01 ...

, he was eligible to represent its senior team and hoped to be selected to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, but ultimately was not called. Paím's only appearance for the Portugal under-21s was on 14 October 2008, when he came on as a 69th-minute substitute for

Daniel Candeias Daniel João Santos Candeias (born 25 February 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish club Kocaelispor. He was on the books of both Porto and Benfica, where he was mostly loaned out, and amassed mos ...

in a 1–0 friendly loss to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

held in

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 Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...

Personal life

Paím was acquitted of

sexual crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

in 2012 in Portugal, and in 2015 in Lithuania. In August 2019, he was arrested by the

Public Security Police In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

after an undetermined amount of illegal drugs were found in his possession in Estoril. He was eventually acquitted on the grounds that

wire tapping Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

was not

admissible evidence Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a factfinder—usually a judge or jury—to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding. Fo ...

in a court of law, but he previously served time in the

Caxias prison Caxias may refer to: Places Brazil *Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul *Caxias (Maranhão) *Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro * Caxias River, a river of Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil Portugal *Caxias, Oeiras Mars *Caxias (crater), a Martian ...

. In October 2023, Paím stated that he would have been a better footballer than Cristiano Ronaldo if he had worked half as hard as him, and that he believed that he would have won the

Ballon d’Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...

in place of Ronaldo. The following month, Ronaldo responded to those claims on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

by commenting on the podcast clip: "WTF. Who is this guy?"

Honours

Trofense * Segunda Liga: 2007–08

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paim, Fabio 1988 births Living people Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent Portuguese men's footballers Black Portuguese sportspeople Footballers from Cascais Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Sporting CP footballers C.D. Olivais e Moscavide players C.D. Trofense players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Rio Ave F.C. players Real S.C. players S.C.U. Torreense players AD Oliveirense players Chelsea F.C. players Girabola players C.D. Primeiro de Agosto players S.L. Benfica (Luanda) players Al Kharaitiyat SC players Maltese Premier League players Mosta F.C. players I Lyga players FK Nevėžis players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Angola Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Expatriate men's footballers in Lithuania Expatriate men's footballers in Luxembourg Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Angola Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Malta Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Luxembourg Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil