Fabio Henrique Tavares (born 23 October 1993), known as Fabinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. A versatile player who mainly plays as a defensive midfielder, Fabinho can also be deployed as a right-back or centre-back.
After starting off at Fluminense, he transferred to Rio Ave in 2012. He spent his entire time there out on loan, first at Real Madrid Castilla, and made one substitute appearance for the first team. He spent five years at Monaco, playing 233 total games and scoring 31 goals, and won Ligue 1 in 2016–17. In his debut season at Liverpool he won the UEFA Champions League. He won the UEFA Super Cup in 2019 and also played a key role in guiding Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2020, the club's first league title in 30 years.
Fabinho made his international debut for Brazil in 2015, and was part of their squads at the Copa America in 2015, 2016 and 2021.
Fabinho is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, with Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United player Gary Neville saying, "Fabinho, for me, is the best." He is a robust, agile player who is valued for his ability to win back the ball in the midfield and recycle possession quickly. His role as defensive midfielder sometimes requires him to drop further back to play as a third centre-back to cover for Liverpool's fullbacks Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. His reading of the game is considered outstanding and has led to him being nicknamed 'The Lighthouse' by Liverpool assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders and his teammates. |
