FABIO PAIM: THE LOST STAR

Aurelio Pereira knew that Cristiano Ronaldo would go on to bigger things than Ricardo Quaresma – but he thought another player was even better.

When Ronaldo departed for Manchester United in 2003, the Sporting chief scout was quoted saying, “If you think Cristiano Ronaldo’s good, wait until you see Fabio Paim.”

Three years younger than Ronaldo, Paim was playing in Sporting’s junior system at the time, and both Barcelona and Real Madrid frequently sent scouts to analyse the winger. The French Football Federation were even said to have offered him money to emigrate and represent Les Bleus in the future.

Sporting promptly offered the 16- year- old a massive pay rise to stave off interest. Paim bought 10 cars before he had even passed his driving test...

He developed a taste for nights out, and never broke into the Sporting first team. After loan moves to various clubs in Portugal, his agent, Jorge Mendes, arranged for him to join Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea in 2008. Paim played for the reserve team under Brendan Rodgers, but went off the rails. “I started drinking,” he later admitted.

Released by Sporting at 22, he moved to a third- tier club in Portugal, then Angolan side Primeiro de Agosto. Further spells followed in Qatar, Malta, Lithuania and Luxembourg’s second division, where Paim was fired for unprofessional behaviour after a few weeks.

In August 2019, Paim was arrested at his Portugal home after drugs were found in his possession. He was acquitted but, now 32, his days of being described as the next Ronaldo are a distant memory.