Fábio Paím
Personal information
Full name Fábio Miguel Malheiro Paím[1]
Date of birth (1988-02-15) 15 February 1988[1]
Place of birth Estoril, Portugal
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
AFD Torre
1997–2007 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Sporting CP 0 (0)
2007–2008 → Olivais Moscavide (loan) 11 (1)
2007 → Trofense (loan) 13 (1)
2008 → Paços Ferreira (loan) 7 (0)
2008 → Chelsea (loan) 0 (0)
2009 → Rio Ave (loan) 0 (0)
2009–2010 → Real Massamá (loan) 2 (0)
2010 Torreense 3 (0)
2011–2012 1º Agosto
2011 → Benfica Luanda (loan)
2012 Futebol Benfica 2 (0)
2013 Al Kharaitiyat
2013 Oliveirense 1 (0)
2014–2015 Mosta 2 (0)
2015 Nevėžis 11 (2)
2015 Union 05
2016 Sintra Football
2017 Paraíba do Sul 0 (0)
2017–2018 Leixões B
International career
2003 Portugal U16 2 (0)
2004–2005 Portugal U17 16 (3)
2006 Portugal U18 3 (0)
2006–2007 Portugal U19 8 (1)
2007–2008 Portugal U20 12 (3)
2008 Portugal U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fábio Miguel Malheiro Paím (born 15 February 1988) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger.

Touted as a promising player at a young age while he was in Sporting CP, including by Cristiano Ronaldo who was also a youth academy graduate at the club, he would later fail to make any significant impact in the sport.[2] After an unsuccessful four-month loan spell at Chelsea in 2008, he went on to play for a host of minor teams in a variety of countries, without settling anywhere.[3][4]

Club career

Born in Estoril, Lisbon District, Paím was once regarded as the most promising young player in Portugal by Cristiano Ronaldo, who said upon arriving at Manchester United: "If you think I'm good, just wait until you see Fábio Paím".[5][6] He joined Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 9, before making his professional debut in 2007 on loan at C.D. Olivais e Moscavide alongside Sporting teammate Bruno Pereirinha. He spent the 2007–08 season with two teams, making his Primeira Liga debut with F.C. Paços de Ferreira[7] after starting with C.D. Trofense in the Segunda Liga.[8]

Paím moved to Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea in August 2008,[9] 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.[10] Coach Carlos Brito decided not to keep him mainly due to his high salary,[11] and the player did not manage to attract any interest before the end of winter transfer window, spending the rest of the campaign unattached.

On 25 September 2009, both Sporting and Real S.C. – which had Filipe Ramos, 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.[12][13] In the 2010 off-season, without any official appearances to his credit, the 22-year-old left the Estádio José Alvalade for good, signing with S.C.U. Torreense of the same league. He left after only a couple of months, spending the following years in Angola with C.D. Primeiro de Agosto and S.L. Benfica (Luanda).[14]

Paím joined C.F. Benfica of the Portuguese third division for the 2012–13 season.[15] After some months trying to regain match fitness, he made his official debut against C.D. Mafra; in December 2012, however, he moved teams and countries again, penning a two-year deal with Al Kharaitiyat SC of the Qatar Stars League.[16]

On 19 August 2014, Paím signed a two-year contract for Mosta F.C. in the Maltese Premier League.[17] In April of the following year, he joined FK Nevėžis in Lithuania.[18]

In the summer of 2015, Paím moved to Union 05 Kayl-Tétange in Luxembourg's division two.[19] He was dismissed from the team in September, for "unprofessional behavior".[20]

On 10 November 2017, after a fleeting spell in Brazilian amateur football, Paím signed with the reserves of Leixões S.C. in the Porto Football Association.[21][22]

International career

Paím won 42 caps for Portugal across all youth levels, scoring seven goals.[23] Of Angolan descent, as his parents hailed from Huambo Province,[24] 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.[25]

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 in a 1–0 friendly loss to Ukraine held in Vila Nova de Gaia.[26]

Personal life

Paím was acquitted of sexual crimes in 2012 in Portugal, and in 2015 in Lithuania.[27] In August 2019, he was arrested by the Public Security Police after an undetermined amount of illegal drugs were found in his possession in Estoril.[28] He was eventually acquitted on the grounds that wire tapping was not admissible evidence in a court of law,[29] but he previously served time in the Caxias prison.[30][31]

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 in place of Ronaldo.[31] The following month, Ronaldo responded to those claims on Instagram by commenting on the podcast clip: "WTF. Who is this guy?"[32][33]

Honours

Trofense

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fabio Paim" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "«Eu era melhor do que Cristiano Ronaldo, mas infelizmente nasci com talento»" ["I was better than Cristiano Ronaldo, but unfortunately I was born with talent"] (in Portuguese). CNN Portugal. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Fábio Paim chega ao 13º clube" [Fábio Paim makes it to club 13]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 15 April 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Torres, Carlos (5 March 2017). "Fábio Paim: "Sinto-me o palhaço que toda a gente quer ver e ninguém ajuda"" [Fábio Paim: "I feel like the clown that everyone wants to see and no one helps"] (in Portuguese). Sábado. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Claro, Andreia; Silva Pires, Tiago (13 July 2013). "Fábio Paim vai jogar na Grécia" [Fábio Paím will play in Greece]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Diamante que procura ser lapidado" [Diamond looking to be edged]. Record (in Portuguese). 11 May 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Leixões-P. Ferreira, 1–0 (Roberto 59')". Record (in Portuguese). 27 January 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Fábio Paim ruma ao clube de Trofa" [Fábio Paim heads to the Trofa club]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Portuguese striker joins Chelsea". BBC Sport. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  10. ↑ Pereira, Sérgio (11 December 2008). "Fábio Paim já treina no Rio Ave" [Fábio Paim already training at Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  11. ↑ "Fábio Paim não fica no Rio Ave" [Fábio Paím will not stay at Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). Academia de Talentos. 9 January 2009. Archived from the original on 9 September 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  12. ↑ "Sete Ex-Juniores do Sporting às ordens de Filipe Ramos" [Seven former Sporting juniors under Filipe Ramos] (in Portuguese). Academia de Talentos. 27 July 2009. Archived from the original on 30 July 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  13. ↑ "Fábio Paim no Real Massamá, Rabiu Ibrahim a caminho" [Fábio Paím at Real Massamá, Rabiu Ibrahim on the way] (in Portuguese). Sporting Apoio. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  14. ↑ "Fábio Paim: "Nunca vivi o futebol"" [Fábio Paim: "I never lived football"]. Record (in Portuguese). 5 April 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  15. ↑ Morais, André (12 July 2012). "Fábio Paim no Futebol Benfica" [Fábio Paím in Futebol Benfica]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  16. ↑ Lopes Gomes, Leonel (31 December 2012). "Fábio Paim a caminho do Catar" [Fábio Paím on his way to Qatar]. A Bola (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  17. ↑ "Fábio Paim assina pelo Mosta FC" [Fábio Paím signs for Mosta FC]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  18. ↑ Stanley, Jack (30 June 2015). "10 football wonderkids who never actually made it". Complex. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Fábio Paím a caminho do Luxemburgo" [Fábio Paím on his way to Luxembourg]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Luxemburgo: Fábio Paim dispensado de equipa da 2.ª Divisão" [Luxembourg: Fábio Paim dismissed from second tier team]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  21. ↑ Vasconcelos, Ricardo (10 November 2017). "Fábio Paím vai assinar pelo Leixões B" [Fábio Paím will sign for Leixões B]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  22. ↑ "Fábio Paim na equipa B do Leixões" [Fábio Paim in Leixões' B-team]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 11 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  23. ↑ "Eternas Promessas: Fábio Paim" [Eternal Promises: Fábio Paim] (in Portuguese). FC Europa. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  24. ↑ "Fábio Paim vai tentar renascer em Angola" [Fábio Paim will try to be reborn in Angola]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "Fábio Paim "Não quero ser mais um"" [Fábio Paim: "I do not want to be just another guy"]. O País (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Sub-21 perdem particular com Ucrânia" [Under-21s lose friendly to Ukraine] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  27. ↑ "Fábio Paím acusado de violação na Lituânia" [Fábio Paím charged with rape in Lithuania]. Observador (in Portuguese). 5 May 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  28. ↑ "Fábio Paim em prisão preventiva por tráfico de droga" [Fábio Paim in pre-trial detention for drug trafficking]. Sol (in Portuguese). 3 August 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  29. ↑ "Fábio Paím ilibado de suspeitas de ser "correio de droga"" [Fábio Paím acquitted of "drug mule" charges] (in Portuguese). Sábado. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  30. ↑ Gomes, João Francisco (14 January 2020). "Fábio Paim escondia dinheiro da venda de droga na roupa interior, conclui Ministério Público" [Fábio Paim hid money from drug sales in his underwear, prosecution concludes]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  31. 1 2 "Fábio Paím: "Eu era melhor que Ronaldo. Ele devia dar-me uma das Bolas de Ouro"" [Fábio Paím: "I was better than Ronaldo. He should give me one of his Ballon d'Or"]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  32. ↑ Banerjee, Ritabrata (21 November 2023). "'Who is this guy?!' – Cristiano Ronaldo issues savage response to former Sporting academy starlet's claim he could have competed with CR7 & Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or". Goal. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  33. ↑ Kenmare, Jack (21 November 2023). "Cristiano Ronaldo hits back after Fabio Paim says he could've been as good as him and Lionel Messi". SPORTbible. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  34. ↑ "Trofense-Aves, 2–1: A quarta derrota" [Trofense-Aves, 2–1: The fourth defeat]. Record (in Portuguese). 17 September 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  35. ↑ "Portimonense-Trofense, 2–2: De novo em festa agora com o título" [Portimonense-Trofense, 2–2: Party time again now with title]. Record (in Portuguese). 12 May 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
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