Fábio Santos Martins (; born 24 July 1993) is a Portuguese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger. He made over 100 appearances and scored over 20 goals in both the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

and Segunda Liga, representing four clubs in the former and three in the latter.

Club career

Born in

Mafamude Mafamude is a former civil parish in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; ), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city o ...

Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; ), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a populati ...

to Brazilian footballer Niromar (who played several years in Portugal in the same position), Martins spent most of his youth career at

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

. He played one season with their reserves in the Segunda Liga, his first match in the competition occurring on 12 August 2012 when he featured 86 minutes in a 2–2 away draw against C.D. Tondela. On 27 August 2013,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Martins signed with C.D. Aves also in the second division. He spent the 2014–15 campaign with fellow league side S.C. Braga B, scoring a career-best 14 goals to help to a final 21st position (still above the relegation zone); it was with the first team of the latter that he first appeared in the

, coming on as a late substitute in the 2–0 home victory over

F.C. Arouca Futebol Clube de Arouca () is a professional Association football, football club based in the Porto metropolitan area. Founded in 1951, the club plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Estádio Municipal de Arouca, with a 5,600-seat capac ...

on 15 February 2015. Martins was loaned to F.C. Paços de Ferreira prior to the start of 2015–16. After featuring sparingly, he joined G.D. Chaves in the same situation, netting six times in

the league ''The League'' is an American television sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football l ...

including once in a 2–2 home draw to

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

after a 30-meter chip that caught

Rui Patrício Rui Pedro dos Santos Patrício (; born 15 February 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for UAE Pro League side Al Ain and the Portugal national team. He is often nicknamed "São Patrício" (''St.'' ''Patric ...

off-guard. On 25 October 2017, Martins renewed his contract with Braga until 2022, with the new

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

being set at

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25 million. He contributed five goals from 27 appearances – ten starts – during the season, which

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

after the fourth-place finish. On 22 June 2019, still owned by Braga, Martins moved to newly promoted

F.C. Famalicão Futebol Clube de Famalicão, commonly known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club from Vila Nova de Famalicão. Founded on 21 August 1931, its senior team currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tie ...

for the upcoming top-flight campaign. He was top scorer for the sixth-placed team during his spell, being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

against Aves and

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M (), commonly known as Marítimo or Marítimo da Madeira, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in the city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Established in 1910, Marítimo is best known for its football team ...

. Martins was loaned to Al Shabab FC on 25 September 2020, as the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club was coached by his compatriot Pedro Caixinha. A year later, he signed a two-year deal for

Al Wahda FC Al Wahda Football Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League. The club was founded in 1974 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, navy blu ...

in the

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

, for

3 million. On 23 December 2022, Martins returned to the Saudi top tier with Al-Khaleej FC on a free transfer.

International career

All categories comprised, Martins won 28

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for Portugal at youth level and scored five goals. His only for the under-21s came on 2 June 2013, when he started the 2–0 friendly defeat of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

held in

Rio Maior Rio Maior () is a municipality in the Santarém District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 21,192, in an area of 272.76 km². The present mayor is Isaura Morais of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the first woman to be elected mayor ...

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Month: September 2019 *Primeira Liga Forward of the Month: September 2019

References

External links

*
Portuguese League profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Fabio 1993 births Living people Portuguese people of Brazilian descent Sportspeople of Brazilian descent 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Vila Nova de Gaia Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Padroense F.C. players FC Porto B players C.D. Aves players S.C. Braga B players S.C. Braga players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players G.D. Chaves players F.C. Famalicão players Saudi Pro League players Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) players Al-Khaleej FC players UAE Pro League players Al Wahda FC players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates