Know where is Fabio Paim now in 2023
Fabio Paim was a former Portuguese former player who recently shared about his experiences with Cristiano Ronaldo during their early days in the Sporting CP youth academy, find out more about him below.
Prior to joining Manchester United and becoming a true football superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo spent his early years with Portuguese side Sporting CP.
Who is Portuguese footballer Fabio Paim, his stats, story and where is he now in 2023
When Cristiano Ronaldo joined Manchester United in 2003, he said, “If you think I’m good, wait until you see Fabio Paim.”
16 years later, Paim watched Ronaldo’s Portugal in training whilst he spent a year in prison after being arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking. pic.twitter.com/qA31Gc5Ohf
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) October 19, 2023
🚨 Fabio Paim breaks down in tears during interview as he recalls watching Cristiano Ronaldo train from prison cell pic.twitter.com/6tnw0uJxvn
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) October 19, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly endured a difficult series of early years at Madeira together with Paim, who was also one of the other talented players at Sporting.
Fabio Paim and Cristiano Ronaldo
The former Portuguese footballer recently shared about his time alongside Ronaldo at Sporting CP. According to Fabio, he and Ronaldo lived in the academy and they would sneak out at night to go to McDonald’s. However, instead of sitting down and paying for a meal, the pair where financially in a tough state and would pick up the burgers which were unwanted and not fit to sell. The former player explained how the pair went there every night for the burgers.
He recounts how Sporting eventually found out about it, but unlike the present day, they were allowed to go out. Fabio explained how he and Ronaldo were not best friends but were friends great and even spent holidays together. His most memorable was his Brazil, ahead of Euro 2004 where Cristiano made first European Championships debut for the senior Portugal team.
He shared about his early encounters with Ronaldo saying;
The first time I met Cristiano I was eight years old, I was new at Sporting and we went to a tournament in Madeira. “We had good times together, really good times. Football was not so serious at that time for us. We could enjoy being kids. But I always remember Ronaldo as a hard worker, really committed and someone who wanted to be the best. He has always been like that, upset when he lost. That effort has taken him to where he is now. Even today, he doesn’t need to play but wants to be the best.”
Fabio Paim bio
Fabio Miguel Malheiro Paim is a Portuguese former professional footballer who was born on 15 February 1988 in Estoril, Portugal. During his time as a player he played as a winger and was highly touted as a promising player at a very young age. He was a Sporting CP Academy graduate alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and shared a close relationship. Despite all the expectations and potential surrounding Paim, he eventually failed to make any significant impact in the sport.
Age and height
Fabio is currently 35 years old and stands at a height of 1.76 m.
Fabio Paim career
After Sporting Lisbon scouted Fabio Paim at the early age of nine, he eventually joined the club’s academy alongside Ronaldo, who was three years older than him. During his early years, he impressed everyone and starting around £4,400 per week when he was just 13. He even earned another £130,000 annual bonus, setting up the total to a whopping £327,000. His weekly wage increased throughout his teenage years to £5,000, £6,000 and £8,000 before eventually joining Chelsea on loan at 20, where he earned around £10,000 per week.
He was widely touted as one of the best players to play football, including Cristiano Ronaldo himself. The Portuguese legend once said after joining Manchester United in 2003:
If you think I’m good, wait until you see Fabio Paim.”
However, the wonderkid went on a spending spree and a life of party, cars, and women. He firstly bought a high-end convertible Mercedes even before obtaining a driving licence and later bought a whole fleet of supercars. He started drinking and partying around 18 or 19, which became a routine and eventually a lifestyle.
All this wrecked his career as a football player who had immense potential. Paim never managed to break into the Sporting first team and joined Chelsea during the 2008-09 season on loan. However, he remained on the reserve team and barely even played any regular matches there under. After spending about two more loan stints during the 2009-10 season, Sporting eventually released Paim in 2010. He then spent his years across several clubs in different countries like Angola, Qatar, Malta, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Brazil slowly losing out all the potential he had while starting out.
Fabio Paim Prison stint
Fabio got a major wake-up call in 2019, after he got arrested and put in prison for 12 months year on suspicion of drug trafficking after police arrested him in possession of 5g of cocaine. The case eventually collapsed and authorities released Paim, but he never made a full return to football. He had a brief stint in Poland’s third tier with LZS Starowice before deciding to finally quit football in 2021.
He shared about his time in prison saying:
The prison I was in is next to the field where the Portugal national team performs so I could watch them training every day for the Euro 2020 qualifiers.:
Fabio Paim present day
The ex-winger, currently travels around Portugal visiting schools, universities and football clubs and giving talks and presentations to young people.
He shared about his present situation saying:
I feel it’s mandatory for me to give back to the kids and teach them what I didn’t have anyone to teach me because I can’t give the gift or talent I was born with to anyone. I can’t teach that. But if I can teach what I have learnt from my experience and what I see has changed in football because of me and because of my story that will be enough for me.”
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