Before he filled his house with major trophies, Cristiano Ronaldo was convinced one of his former team-mates was better than him – his name was Fabio Paim.
You may not be aware of the former Portuguese prospect, but he was billed as the next Ronaldinho. He combined blistering speed with silky dribbling and wonderful technique – even Ronaldo thought Paim was destined to take the world by storm.
But while the Manchester United and Re al Madrid legend went on to win five Champions League titles and five Ballon d’Ors, Paim's career fizzled out in a haze of partying and fame, before he found himself behind bars. He is on a long list of supremely talented youngsters who were not quite able to establish themselves in the beautiful game.
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When Ronaldo signed for Manchester United, he said: "If you think I'm good, wait until you see Fabio Paim.” Unfortunately for the football world, few got to see Paim strut his stuff on the pitch. “Cristiano, for all his effort and hard work, went to a level he deserves,” Paim said to the Sun. “But when I was playing, if I had the same effort and commitment, I would be better than him.
“If I speak about technique, I was better. I was a smaller Ronaldinho. But as we can see, it's not the technique that leads us to wherever. But yes at that time I was better than Cristiano. I believe he should give me one of his Ballon d’Ors.”
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Portuguese sports fans would flock in their hundreds to watch a 13-year-old Paim play football when he was a young prospect at Sporting Lisbon. Before he was even old enough to leave school, he had already made a whopping £327,000.
However, the money, fame and partying lifestyle set his career back so far he ended up “mentally” retiring by the age of 22. In 2019, he was arrested for possessing five grams of cocaine.
To make matters even worse, he literally got to see what might have been for himself, when he was sent to a prison that overlooked the training ground of the Portugal national football team.
“The prison I was in is next to the field where the national team performs so I could watch them training every day for the Euro 2020 qualifiers,” he added. “I was there for a reason and I never thought, 'Ah, Cristiano is there. I should be there too.'”
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