Fabio Vieira

Fabio Vieira is a Portuguese footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Arsenal.

Vieira began his professional footballing career in the youth system at FC Porto, having joined the club back in 2008.

After having represented the FC Porto B team, Vieira made his first-team debut for the Portuguese club’s senior team in 2020, helping them to win two league titles.

In the summer of 2022, Vieira left his boyhood club to sign for English side Arsenal in a £34m deal.

Vieira has represented Portugal from Under-18 to Under-21 level.

So, what do we know about Vieira’s journey to becoming the talented attacking midfielder he is today? This is his story.

Early Life, Parents And Upbringing

Fabio Vieira (full name: Fabio Daniel Ferreira Vieira) was born on 30 May 2000 in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, to parents Carlos and Paula. He is an only child.

“My family is a normal family, a working family,” explained Vieira in an interview with The Athletic in 2022. “Nobody in my family played football before – I was the first.”

“I started playing at Argoncilhe when I was five or six years old,” Vieira says. “Then, when I was seven, I went to play a tournament for Feirense, the Mundialito do Algarve, a well-known tournament.”

Vieira’s performances as a youngster had caught the eye of a number of scouts and he received interest from both Benfica and FC Porto. However, once he learned of the latter’s interest, his mind was made up.

“FC Porto came in last, they contacted me and I didn’t have the slightest doubt,” he explains. “It was the club I liked since I was little.”

Speaking about his footballing idols in 2022, Vieira said that he looked up to both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “I love Ronaldo and Messi,” Vieira told The Athletic. “I like Messi because of the style of play. It’s like mine — left-footed, some of the same qualities. And Ronaldo not because he’s Portuguese, but because of the hard work, and the mentality. It’s incredible. And he scores many goals. They are incredible players.”

FC Porto

Vieira officially joined FC Porto’s youth set-up in 2008 and went through the club’s academy system. During his time in the youth teams, he was sometimes coached by his older cousin, Mara Vieira.

He went on to make 27 appearances for FC Porto’s B team, scoring nine goals in 27 games in all competitions and helping them to win the Uefa Youth League in 2018–19, before earning his place in the club’s first team.

He netted his first goal for the FC Porto first team on 5 July 2020, helping FC Porto to seal a 5-0 victory over Belenenses SAD. Fabio scored his first and only goal for FC Porto in the Champions League on 27 October 2020, netting in a 2–0 win against Olympiacos in the group stage after starting at the Estadio do Dragao.

In the 2021-22 campaign, Vieira started 15 league games for FC Porto as they won the title. In total he netted six goals and made 14 assists in 27 league games for FC Porto that season.

His impressive performances for FC Porto had caught the eye of Arsenal, and a transfer to the Premier League soon beckoned.

Arsenal

On 17 June 2022, FC Porto confirmed in a statement that they had reached an agreement with Arsenal for the sale of Vieira in a deal worth €40m (£34m) including add-ons.

Arsenal then confirmed the transfer a few days later, on 21 June, with Vieira agreeing a “long-term” contract with the north London club.

“It was always my dream to play for Porto when I was young,” Vieira told The Athletic following his move. “But my real dream was to play in the Premier League.”

He added: “The conversations with the manager [Arteta] and [Arsenal chief] Edu were very important. They told me they wanted me at Arsenal. I liked the project because they want young players in the team to compete with each other, to play together for three or four years.”

“They spoke with Porto and my agent — things happened very quickly and smoothly. I’m very happy to be here now. It was an easy choice: Arsenal is a historic club.”

International Career

Vieira represented Portugal at Under-18, Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 level.

In the summer of 2021, he was named as the player of the tournament at the Uefa European Under-21 Championship, after featuring in all six games and netting once for runners-up Portugal.

Earnings, Salary And Wages

According to The Sun in June 2022, Vieira’s first contract with Arsenal was worth in the region of £25,000 per week, which works out at around £1.3m per year.

Life Away From The Pitch

Vieira speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Away from football, he likes to listen to Brazilian and Latino music.

As of the summer of 2022, Vieira was in a relationship with girlfriend Carina Raquel.

What Have Others Said?

Portuguese football expert Pedro Sepulveda, speaking after Vieira’s transfer to Arsenal in the summer of 2022: “We are talking about a player who plays on the right wing and he uses his game to move from the wing to the middle. But he can easily play in other places like the left wing and as an offensive midfielder, a No 10, as he is not that fast. But he has a lot of flexibility with the ball and very good positioning without the ball as well.”

Mikel Arteta, speaking after Vieira’s transfer to Arsenal was confirmed: “I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent. Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play. We welcome Fabio and his family to our club and are looking forward to starting work with him ahead of the new season.”

Arsenal technical director, Edu, speaking after Vieira’s summer 2022 switch to The Emirates: “We’re so pleased to have completed the signing of Fabio. He is a player with special qualities who is comfortable with the ball in the final third of the pitch. We are all looking forward to working with him and enjoying his future contribution to Arsenal.”