Fábio Henrique Tavares (born 23 October 1993), known as Fabinho (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the Brazil national team. A versatile player, he can also be deployed as a centre-back. Praised for his tackling, vision, and reading of the game, he is considered one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation.

Fabinho began his career at Paulínia FC and subsequently transferred to Fluminense and Rio Ave in 2012. He spent his entire time in Portugal 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 he won Ligue 1 in the 2016–17 season. He was recognised as a major player at the Monegasque club. Fabinho then transferred to Liverpool for a reported transfer fee of £39 million. In his debut season at Liverpool he won the UEFA Champions League. Victories in the UEFA Super Cup and in the FIFA Club World Cup preceded Fabinho playing a significant role in Liverpool winning the 2019–20 Premier League. He also won the FA Cup and EFL Cup with Liverpool in the 2021–22 season and won the FA Community Shield the following year. Fabinho has received much credit for his role in Liverpool's resurgence over the years. In 2023, Fabinho officially joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad, where he won the Saudi Pro League and King's Cup two years later.

Fabinho made his international debut for Brazil in 2015, and was part of their squads at the Copa América in 2015, 2016, and 2021, finishing as a runner-up in the latter edition. Fabinho was also selected as part of Brazil's squad for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and 2026.

Early life Fabinho was born in Campinas, São Paulo, to Rosangela and João Roberto Tavares.

Club career Early career Fabinho began his career at Fluminense. He was called into a first team matchday squad for the only time on 20 May 2012, as he was an unused substitute in a 1–0 win over Corinthians in that season's Série A. On 8 June 2012, Fabinho joined Portuguese Primeira Liga club Rio Ave on a six-year contract. Upon arriving in Vila do Conde, Fabinho was greeted by his new manager, Nuno Espírito Santo. Fabinho later stated that he had been informed of what to expect in Portugal by fellow footballer Deco, who had been with him at Fluminense.

After one month at Rio Ave, Fabinho joined Real Madrid Castilla on a season-long loan on 19 July 2012 and was welcomed in his hotel room in Madrid by José Mourinho. He made his professional debut on 17 August, as the Spanish Segunda División season began, playing 90 minutes in the 2–1 defeat at Villarreal. On 28 April 2013, he scored his first goal, heading an added-time equaliser for a 3–3 draw at CD Numancia. He made his debut for Real Madrid on 8 May 2013, playing 14 minutes in place of Fábio Coentrão and assisting the sixth goal by Ángel Di María in the 6–2 La Liga victory over Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Fabinho was later praised by Jason Pettigrove of Bleacher Report as "assured and polished when called upon".

Monaco 2013–2015: Adaptation to Monaco

On 19 July 2013, Fabinho joined Monaco from Rio Ave on a season-long loan deal. Fabinho chose to move to Monaco as he was confident of receiving regular playing time there and as he was sure of Monaco's status as a prominent club. His decision was made in this way despite the fact that the coaches at Real Madrid Castilla had notified him that he would have a good chance of moving up to the first team. Fabinho took the squad number 2 to wear on his shirt. He made his debut on 10 August at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Monaco's opening Ligue 1 match of the 2013–14 season, playing the entire match against Bordeaux, with Monaco winning 2–0. He scored his first goal for Monaco in the 58th minute in their 6–0 home win over Lens in the quarter-finals of the 2013–14 Coupe de France on 26 March 2014.

After completing his one-year loan at Monaco, he rejoined the club on loan for another year on 2 July 2014. On 9 December 2014, he scored the last goal in the Group C Matchday 6 2–0 home win over Zenit St Petersburg (his first UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League goal), to enable Monaco to qualify for 2014–15 UEFA Champions League knockout phase as group winners.

2015–2018: Ligue 1 victory

On 19 May 2015, after two seasons on loan at Monaco, Monaco and Rio Ave agreed on the permanent transfer of Fabinho; he signed a contract with Monaco for the next four seasons and would be tied to the club until 30 June 2019. On 20 March 2016, Fabinho won a penalty when fouled by compatriot David Luiz, and converted it for a 2–0 win that was Paris Saint-Germain's first home defeat since May 2014.

On 21 February 2017, Fabinho provided one assist each to Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé in a 5–3 away defeat against Manchester City in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first-leg match. On 15 March, Fabinho made the score 2–0 for Monaco in the 29th minute by driving home Benjamin Mendy's low cross to help Monaco beat Manchester City 3–1 (aggregate score 6–6) in the second-leg match at the Stade Louis II and advance to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule. After Monaco achieved victory in Ligue 1 in 2016–2017, several noted clubs, such as Manchester United, made attempts to sign Fabinho. Fabinho and several other Monaco players dyed their hair in the red-and-white colours of the club as a celebration for the title they had won.

Liverpool 2018–19 season: UEFA Champions League victory On 28 May 2018, Premier League club Liverpool announced that Fabinho, aged 24, would sign for the club on a long-term contract for a reported initial fee of £39 million, effective 1 July. It was reported that a further £4m could be added to the fee in the form of performance-related bonus payments. The announcement was made days after Liverpool's loss to Real Madrid in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final. The transfer made Fabinho the 9th most expensive Brazilian footballer in history. With Liverpool midfielder Emre Can expected to depart from Liverpool for Juventus, it was suggested by analysts that Fabinho was to be his replacement. Fabinho took the squad number 3 to wear on his shirt. Upon announcing his transfer, Fabinho described himself as "really excited" to be joining "a giant of a team". Fabinho later commented that when he had arrived at the club he had been able to "sense that Liverpool were at the start of something really special", adding that Liverpool "had waited for this moment and [that] now was the time for harvest". His debut for the club came as an injury-time substitute for Sadio Mané in a Champions League group match against Paris Saint-Germain on 18 September, a 3–2 win at Anfield. He made his league debut in a 1–0 win at Huddersfield Town on 20 October, coming on for the last 21 minutes in place of Adam Lallana. A week later he was granted a first league start in a 4–1 home victory against Cardiff City in central midfield alongside Georginio Wijnaldum, and received praise from Sky Sports. On 16 December, Fabinho provided his first assist for Liverpool, a dinked ball over the top of the opposition defence from which Sadio Mané scored, as Liverpool defeated Manchester United at home with a score of 3–1. On 26 December, Fabinho scored his first goal for Liverpool with a late header in a 4–0 win against Newcastle United.

On 7 January 2019, Fabinho played at centre-back against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round. On 12 January 2019, Fabinho again played in a centre-back position in a 0–1 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion and was highly praised for his role in the win by Garth Crooks. On Fabinho's execution of the centre-back position in the latter match, Ian Wright noted that he had shown his "natural defensive instincts". Following such performances, manager Jurgen Klopp praised him and stated that he was a "new centre-back option". On 7 May 2019, Fabinho was a standout performer as Liverpool overturned a three-goal deficit and beat Barcelona 4–0 in the second leg of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League semi-finals to advance to the final. In total, Fabinho won a total of 23 tackles, recoveries, interceptions and one-on-one challenges during the match. Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher later noted that Fabinho was "particularly prominent" in patrolling the central zone of the pitch in the game, in addition lauding him for an "exquisite" tackle on Messi. Fabinho later described the game as the "biggest match" of his life and described the recitation of the 'You'll Never Walk Alone' anthem by the Anfield crowd as the "most defining moment" of his career. On 1 June, Fabinho started in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur, playing the full 90 minutes as the club secured their sixth win in the competition and as Fabinho earned his first trophy with the club.

2019–20 season: Super Cup and Premier League victory

Fabinho started for Liverpool as the side finished as the runners-up to the 2019 FA Community Shield after a penalty shoot-out. On 14 August 2019, Fabinho played the full 90 minutes in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea, scoring Liverpool's second penalty in the shootout after regular time ended 2–2, in an eventual 5–4 win on penalties. On 27 October, he earned praise from the fans for his performance in a 2–1 win against Tottenham. Fabinho's first goal of the season came against Manchester City on 10 November, scoring an early long-ranged goal in an eventual 3–1 win. Scoring this goal after 5 minutes and 26 seconds of the match's start, Fabinho became the fastest Premier League player to score against Manchester City since December 2016 when Theo Walcott of Arsenal scored after 4 minutes 6 seconds.

On 27 November 2019, during a crucial Champions League match against Napoli, he suffered an early ankle injury after falling awkwardly during a challenge and was substituted after 18 minutes. Two days later, the club announced that the injury would keep Fabinho out of action until the start of 2020. On 21 December 2019, Fabinho won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup after Liverpool beat Flamengo in the final. On 24 June 2020, Fabinho scored a long-range goal from more than thirty yards in a victory against Crystal Palace and was described by journalist Phil McNulty as a "complete operator" who "showed all sides of his game in what turned into a stroll". The same game, he provided a brilliant pass for Mohamed Salah to score and effectively settle the contest. Thus, Fabinho celebrated his 41st victory in what was his 50th Premier League appearance; only Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Ederson and Aymeric Laporte have won more of their opening 50 games in the competition. On 25 June 2020, Liverpool won the Premier League after Manchester City were defeated by Chelsea with a score of 2–1. Fabinho played a major part in Liverpool's 2019–20 Premier League title win that season.

2020–21 season: 100th appearance