Fabinho

Early life Fabinho was born in Campinas, São Paulo, to Rosangela and João Roberto Tavares.

Club career Early career Fabinho began his career at Fluminense. He was called into a first team matchday squad for the only time on 20 May 2012, as he was an unused substitute in a 1–0 win over Corinthians in that season's Série A. On 8 June 2012, Fabinho joined Portuguese Primeira Liga club Rio Ave on a six-year contract. Upon arriving in Vila do Conde, Fabinho was greeted by his new manager, Nuno Espírito Santo. Fabinho later stated that he had been informed of what to expect in Portugal by fellow footballer Deco, who had been with him at Fluminense. On 28 April 2013, he scored his first goal, heading an added-time equaliser for a 3–3 draw at CD Numancia. He made his debut for Real Madrid on 8 May 2013, playing 14 minutes in place of Fábio Coentrão and assisting the sixth goal by Ángel Di María in the 6–2 La Liga victory over Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Fabinho was later praised by Jason Pettigrove of Bleacher Report as "assured and polished when called upon".

Monaco 2013–2015: Adaptation to Monaco

On 19 July 2013, Fabinho joined Monaco from Rio Ave on a season-long loan deal. Fabinho chose to move to Monaco as he was confident of receiving regular playing time there and as he was sure of Monaco's status as a prominent club. His decision was made in this way despite the fact that the coaches at Real Madrid Castilla had notified him that he would have a good chance of moving up to the first team. He scored his first goal for Monaco in the 58th minute in their 6–0 home win over Lens in the quarter-finals of the 2013–14 Coupe de France on 26 March 2014.

After completing his one-year loan at Monaco, he rejoined the club on loan for another year on 2 July 2014. On 9 December 2014, he scored the last goal in the Group C Matchday 6 2–0 home win over Zenit St Petersburg (his first UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League goal), to enable Monaco to qualify for 2014–15 UEFA Champions League knockout phase as group winners.

2015–2018: Ligue 1 victory

Fabinho's vision and reading of the game are considered outstanding and have led to him being nicknamed 'The Lighthouse' by former Liverpool assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders and his teammates. Such attributes have led sports journalist Jonathan Liew to call him a "midfielder whose superior reading of the game can occasionally offer the illusion of clairvoyance". Fabinho also has a pass completion rate which exceeds 90%. Moreover, Fabinho has earned himself the nickname "The Hoover" courtesy of former team-mate Joe Gomez, as he is adept in removing opposing teams' attacking threat on the field. Fabinho has also been called "the spine of the team [Liverpool]" by former team-mate Virgil van Dijk. Furthermore, Fabinho has drawn praise for powerful and well-placed long-range goals as well as for being a reliable and precise penalty-kick taker. Fabinho cites Lionel Messi as the toughest opponent he has ever faced.

Reception Fabinho has drawn praise for his ability and achievements from eminent footballing figures such as Michael Owen, Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry has also stated that Fabinho's presence "calms everybody down" on the pitch, referring to Fabinho's effect on his teammates. Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher has voiced his belief that as a man who could "win the ball" as well as he could "use it", Fabinho's introduction in the Liverpool side had raised the squad's quality. Paul Salt of BBC Radio Merseyside has voiced his belief that Fabinho has been "a great servant" to Liverpool. He has been named in The Guardian list of the best 100 male footballers on five occasions: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Personal life Fabinho married Rebeca Tavares in 2015, having been together since 2013. Rebeca was a professional footballer and initially played at a high level as an attacker in Spain, later signing for AS Monaco FF in January 2018 before retiring the same year to support her husband upon his move to Merseyside. The couple revealed Rebeca was pregnant with their first child in July 2022. Their son Israel was born in January 2023. Fabinho has referred to his son as his "little Scouser".

Fabinho is often called 'Flaco', meaning 'skinny' in Spanish, by his teammates, as well as 'Fab'. Fabinho is known to spend time with compatriots and former Liverpool F.C teammates Alisson Becker and Roberto Firmino while still living in Liverpool, as well as fellow countrymen Ederson, Fred, and Fernandinho (the three of whom were formerly based in Manchester), and their families until his departure from England, as well as Firmino, Ederson, Fred and Fernandinho's, with Fabinho and Firmino moving to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Ederson and Fred moving to Istanbul, Turkey, and Fernandinho returning to Brazil. Série A

Real Madrid Castilla (loan) 2012–13 Premier League

2019–20 Premier League

2020–21 Premier League

2021–22 Premier League

2022–23 Premier League

2023–24

Honours Monaco Ligue 1: 2016–17 FA Cup: 2021–22 EFL Cup: 2021–22 FA Community Shield: 2022; runner-up: 2019, 2020 UEFA Champions League: 2018–19; runner-up: 2021–22 FIFA Club World Cup: 2019

Al-Ittihad Saudi Pro League: 2024–25 King's Cup: 2024–25

Brazil Copa América runner-up: 2021

Individual UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2021–22