Fábio Miguel Malheiro Paím is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger. After starting out at Sporting, he went on to play for a host of clubs in a variety of countries, without settling anywhere.
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". 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 after starting with C.D. Trofense in the Segunda Liga. In August 2008, Paím moved on loan to Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea in England, but only appeared for its reserves during a four-month spell. On 11 December he left the club and moved, yet again on loan, to Rio Ave FC. 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, 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 level – 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, 22-year-old Paím left Sporting for good, signing with another club in division three, S.C.U. Torreense. He left the team after only a couple of months, spending the following years in Angola with C.D. Primeiro de Agosto and S.L. Benfica. For the 2012–13 season, Paím signed for C.F. Benfica in the Portuguese third division. 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. On 19 August 2014, Paím signed a two-year contract for Mosta F.C. in the Maltese Premier League. In April of the following year, he joined FK Nevėžis in Lithuania. In the summer of 2015, Paím moved to Union 05 Kayl-Tétange in Luxembourg's second tier. 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. in the Porto Football Association.
