Fabinho

Fabinho is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool FC.

The South American moved to Portuguese side Rio Ave from Brazilian club Fluminense in June 2012.

After one month in Portugal, Fabinho moved to Real Madrid Castilla on a season-long loan from Rio Ave. He went on to make his debut for the Real Madrid first-team in May 2013.

Fabinho moved to AS Monaco on loan in July 2013. After two seasons, the Ligue 1 side signed the midfielder on a permanent deal.

He won the Ligue 1 title with AS Monaco in 2016-17 before Liverpool FC signed Fabinho in a £40m deal in May 2018.

Fabinho made his senior Brazil debut in a 2-0 win over Mexico in Sao Paulo in June 2015.

Rio Ave

Fabinho (full name: Fabio Henrique Tavares ) was born in Campinas, Sao Paolo, Brazil on 23 October 1993.

He began his career in Rio De Janeiro with Fluminense. However, he didn’t make an appearance for the Brazilian club despite being called into their matchday squad.

(Photo: @fabinho / Instagram)

Fabinho moved to Portuguese side Rio Ave in 2013 without making an appearance for Fluminense. His agent Jorge Mendes played a big role in deal.

He signed a six-year deal with Rio Ave but Fabinho was on the move less than a month later.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid Castilla signed Fabinho in a season-long loan deal in July 2012.

His agent Mendes was representing los Blancos super star Cristiano Ronaldo and then Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho.

He opened his account for the Spanish club’s second string team in a 3–3 draw at CD Numancia in April 2013.

Fabinho scored two goals in 30 appearances for Real Madrid Castilla in the 2012-13 Segunda Division campaign.

Fabinho (Photo: Liverpool FC / YouTube)

The Brazilian starlet made his one and only appearance for the Real Madrid senior team as a substitute for the final 14 minutes of their 6-2 win over Malaga at The Bernabeu in May 2013. He made an assist for Angel di Maria in his brief cameo.

AS Monaco

Fabinho moved to AS Monaco, initially on a season-long loan, from Rio Ave on 19 July 2013.

His debut came in a 2-0 win over Bordeaux in Ligue 1 at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in August 2013.

The South American midfielder netted his first goal in a 6-0 home win over Lens at Coupe de France in March 2014.

He ended the campaign with one goal in 30 appearances and opted to return to AS Monaco for the 2014-15 Ligue 1 season.

Fabinho scored his first Champions League goal in AS Monaco’s 6-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg in December 2014.

The versatile player finished his second season at the Ligue 1 side with two goals in 51 games in all competitions.

AS Monaco signed Fabinho on a permanent deal from Rio Ave in the 2015 summer transfer window. He signed a four-year contract to keep him in the Principality until June 2019.

(Photo: @fabinho / Instagram)

Fabinho started to establish himself as one of Ligue 1’s most promising prospects in his third term.

The Brazil international scored league goals against GFC Ajaccio, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne and Paris Saint-Germain. He also contributed two goals in Coupe de France.

The South American was shuffled from full-back into a central midfield role for the 2016-17 season under manager Leonardo Jardim.

The tactical switch paid dividends as Fabinho excelled in his role in the middle of the park alongside Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernardo Silva.

Fabinho helped AS Monaco to edge past Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Champions League second qualification stage. He stepped up with goals home and away in a 3-2 win over La Liga side Villarreal in the Champions League playoff to secure their place in the group stage.

The Brazil international scored in five successive games in August and September. As well as his European goals, Fabinho found the net against Ligue 1 champions PSG, Guingamp and Lille to make a prolific start to the season.

He got on the score-sheet in AS Monaco’s 7-0 win at Metz before the South American helped his team maintain their Ligue 1 title push with a strike in a 6-0 victory over Nancy in November 2016.

The South American didn’t get on the score-sheet again until a 2-1 away win at Guingamp in late February 2017.

It triggered another goal-scoring spell for Fabinho with additional strikes against Nantes and Caen.

The Brazilian star netted a vital goal in a 3-1 home win over Premier League side Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals to secure their passage to the quarter-finals.

Fabinho found the net again in AS Monaco’s 3-2 win at Caen on the final day of the 2016-17 season.

He ended the domestic campaign with nine goals and one assist in 34 Ligue 1 games. Fabinho scored one goal and made three assists in eight Champions League appearances.

Manchester United were linked with a move to sign Fabinho in the 2017 summer transfer window but a move ultimately failed to materialise despite AS Monaco’s fire-sale. Fabinho knuckled down in the 2017-18 season despite AS Monaco’s depleted team.

He scored in a 6-1 win against Marseille in Ligue 1 on 27 August 2017. The Brazilian wasn’t amongst the goals again until November when he netted against Guingamp.

(Photo: @fabinho / Instagram)

Fabinho finished his final season at AS Monaco with seven goals and three assists in 44 games in all competitions.

Liverpool FC

Liverpool FC completed a £40m deal to sign Fabinho from AS Monaco on Monday 28 May 2018. He signed a long-term contract with the Reds ahead of his move on 1 July.

Fabinho said about his transfer: “I am very happy. I am really excited about this move.

“This is something that I always wanted – this is a giant of a team. The infrastructures of the club look exceptional. I look forward to the time and the day I’ll put the shirt on and get on the pitch and see how the supporters welcome my arrival.”

He helped the Reds to win the Premier League title in 2019-20 after being involved in their Champions League triumph the season before that. He also won the Uefa Super Cup with the Reds in 2019.

International Career

Fabinho made his first appearance for the senior Brazil national team on 7 June 2015.

He was included in Brazil’s squad for the 2021 Copa America on home soil.

(Photo: @fabinho / Instagram)

Personal Life

Fabinho married his wife Rebeca Tavares in 2015, with the couple having been together since 2013.

In October 2021, Rebeca posted the photo below of the couple on holiday together on her Instagram account and wished her husband a happy birthday. She wrote: “Happy birthday to the man who keeps my ocean calm so I can ride the waves. I love you baby! May God Almighty bless you.”

Fabinho with his wife Rebeca (Photo: @rebecatavares / Instagram)

Fabinho – Did You Know?

• According to reports at the time, Fabinho turned down the chance to move to Premier League side Manchester United and La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid to join Liverpool FC.

• Fabinho made 232 appearances for French club AS Monaco, scoring 32 goals.

• At Liverpool, he reportedly earned himself the nickname, ‘The Hoover’ because according to team-mate Joe Gomez: “he cleans up everything.”