Fábio Vieira is a professional footballer, from Portugal who has risen to fame gradually since the very start of his career.
Vieira is given the nickname “T-bag” due to an uncanny resemblance with the character T-bag from the popular American Drama series,’ Prison Break,’ whereas the full name of the footballer is Fábio Daniel Ferreira Vieira.
Despite being very passionate about football from very early on, Vieira has had to struggle with various things to reach where he is today. Success has not come easy to the young footballer but his persistent hard work and exceptional skills have favored him very well.
Quick Facts on Fábio Vieira
| Full Name | Fábio Daniel Ferreira Vieira |
| Date of Birth | 30 May, 2000 |
| Age | 22 years |
| Place of Birth | Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal |
| Nationality | Portuguese/Argoncillian |
| Height | 5’7″ (1.70m) |
| Profession | Footballer |
| Current team | Arsenal |
| Position | Attacking Midfielder |
Age, Body Features and Personality
Fábio Vieira was born on 30 May 2000. So, as of 2022, the footballer is 22 years of age.
Although it is said that Vieira faced some growth problems in his early years, the player now stands 5 feet 7 inches (1.70m) tall.
Similarly, Fábio is known to have had an extroverted personality since childhood. He is sociable and outgoing as well as communicative. Fábio looks like someone who is always ready to have some fun. But, along with that Fábio is also known to get serious during times. Fábio plays by his emotions and thus, acts the way he is feeling at any particular moment.
Fábio’s life growing up
In the year 2000, Fábio was born to parents Carlos Vítor Vieira and Paula Vieira in the small city of Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. He is the only child of his parents.
As a child, Fábio was very lively and had a playful side. Fábio was always happy to play with his friends in his Argoncilhe neighborhood. Fábio was an intelligent kid and didn’t have rebellious inclinations in school but he did slack off now and then.
He attended a neighborhood school called Carvalhal Elementary School in Argoncilhe, Santa Maria da Feira. He was a good student and his mom always followed up on his studies to make sure of that. From early on, Fábio was respected for the way he played football in his school. He even used to avoid doing classwork, saying he was going to play football.
As a little boy, all Fábio wanted to do was play football and he saw no other alternatives. At the age of seven, he had told his parents that he wanted to play for FC Porta and that he didn’t want a plan B for himself.
When he was a kid, Fábio was very close with his grandfather. As a matter of fact, his grandfather laid the foundations for Fábio to play football. But, his grandfather died early of oncological disease which left the footballer devastated.
Regardless, he was still surrounded by football and didn’t give up on his passion. Fábio continued to look up to his cousin Mara, after his grandfather, and used to play Futsal with him. For Fábio, Mara was the best example to follow in terms of football in his family. Soon in 2008, Fábio got into Fc Porta and then his journey began at an early age.
Fábio’s Background and Family
Fábio Vieira is someone who grew up to love, respect, and look up to his family. For him, his parents were the ones who were the most supportive of his career goals.
About his Father:
Fábio thinks of his father, Carlos Vítor Vieira as one of the most important pillars of his life. Carlos used to work construction jobs to support his family. Although Carlos got connected more to football only after the time Fábio made headways towards the FC Porto academy, he has lost many hours in his construction work (both day and night) in other to take his son to games.
After Fábio started building his career as a footballer, Carlos refrained from working in the construction industry. He needed to manage some aspects of his son’s career. Carlos works closely with Gestifute- the agency to see to the affairs of his son’s career.
About his Mother:
Fábio’s mother, Paula Vieira used to be a maid who specialized in domestic services when he was a kid. Paula is a loving mother and Fábio admires her very much.
Paula is very supportive of her son’s career as well. She has been with him ever since he said that he does not want a Plan B except for playing football, Paula has been nothing but understanding. She has followed her son to every place football takes him.
About his Grandfather:
Fábio’s paternal grandfather was very passionate about football himself. He was a devoted supporter of Benfica. In Fábio’sfamily, his grandfather is arguably the first footballer. He used to play with Águias de Pereira, a team that played in Portugal’s regional championships.
He had promised Fábio that he would go to the Dragão to see him play when he becomes a professional. Unfortunately, Fábio’s grandfather died before he could fulfill the promise. He died of an oncological disease. That is the reason why Fábio was emotional on the day of his debut.
About his Cousin:
Besides his grandfather, Fábio also looked up to his cousin Mara. Mara was a good example for Fábio to follow. After his grandfather passed away Fábioused to play Futsal with his cousin.
Following that this cousin of Fábio later became a youth football coach with FC Porto around the same time Fábio joined the club. Mara coached at FC Porto as well as looked after his little cousin. But after working with FC Porto for twelve years, Mara left the job. He then moved to Valadares where he was free from the responsibility of training and mentoring a close family member.
Fábio struggled during his early years
Growing up, Fábio didn’t have access to many riches.Fabio Vieira’s parents weren’t wealthy. They worked manual jobs on a daily basis to provide for their son. His father was a construction worker and his mother a maid. They couldn’t invest as much as they would have liked to support the player’s football career.
After joining FC Porto at the young age of 8, Fábio had a hard time adjusting for quite a while. He was not seen as the promising prodigy that everyone thought he was. Instead, he was criticized by his coaches frequently and harshly, which lowered his morale.
Also, during his academy years, Fábio suffered from growth problems. He was the shortest among his academy teammates and was not favored by his coaches. It took Fábio almost five years to reinstitute the growth and the confidence he had lost.
Before his debut as a senior player, the footballer used to have problems with the persistent surge of adrenaline. He used to have problems sleeping. A night before he entered Estádio do Dragão as a senior player, he slept around 3 am, as revealed by his mother, Paula Vieira.
Career build-up
It is a lesser-known fact that the first club of Fábio is not actually FC Porto. Before joining FC Porto, Fábio had joined the academy- Casa do FC Porto de Argoncilhe. The president of the said club, Joaquim Avelar, was a neighbor of Fábio and a very close friend of his parents, Carlos and Paula.
Joined FC Porto
Fábio Vieira became the best player in a Mundialito held in Vila Real de Santo António, in the Algarve, when he was just 8 years old as the part of the club he had joined before FC Porto. That year in 2008, Fábio raised the reputation of this club after he won this honor.
And, it was in that tournament that little Fábio started to get noticed by football scouts. Among the scouts, it was two people from two different clubs who spoke to FábioVieira’s parents about having their son play for them. After much convincing, Carlos and Paula (Fábio’s parents)agreed for the son to join one of those clubs.
FC Porto was the last club to convince Fábio Vieira’s parents. But, Fábio had always wanted to be a part of FC Porto. This is because it was the only big club he liked since he was little – from the days of Jose Mourinho.
Fabio Rose to Fame
Although Fábio had it rough in the few first years, he quickly rose to the top in the academy. In no time he was able to become the leader of his team and consequently, led them to several victories. Fábio’s first ever sporting success was when he lead his team to be the national champions.
After the success, Fábio followed a bigger challenge in Europe. That challenge was the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League. Fabio played the whole nine matches as he helped FC Porto Juniors win the trophy. The final was against a Chelsea great team of youngsters.
2018–19 UEFA was a classic match where Fábio Vieira drew the first blood by scoring a great goal. It was from this moment that Arsenal FC began putting their eyes on the Portuguese midfield sensation.
Becoming a Professional Footballer
By leading FC Porto to defeat the Londoners, Fábio gained his first national and European recognition. Vieira’s FC Porto team is actually the first club in Portugal, that won the UEFA Youth League.
After lifting the UEFA Youth League triumph, Fabio continued to collect more accolades. This time, it was from Portugal’s national youth team. His name was part of the European under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament.
Arsenal FC’s interest in the midfielder increased after he finished strong in the European Under-21 Championship. Fabio finished strong by reaching the finals. However, his team narrowly lost to Germany. Despite losing to Germany, Fabio Vieira received the player of the tournament award. The previous winners of this honor include the likes of Juan Mata Thiago and Andrea Pirlo. After winning this award, Vieira got announced as a potential international star of the future.
Vieira made his debut as a senior player shortly after turning 20. He was recognized as the rising star of Portuguese football. Following that, he entered the Dragon stage for the first time. On that day, Fabio achieved his childhood dream.
In his early pro football journey, Vieira continued to make a few cameo appearances in a team that had superstars like Otavio, Luis Diaz, etc. The 2021-21 season was his breakout where he scored 7 goals and made 16 assists. Fabio was among Sérgio Conceição’s Porto side, which completed a domestic double.
Vieira took over as Porto’s main creative force when Luis Diaz left for Liverpool FC in January 2022. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal’s manager) had been eyeing him all this time. And in the 2022 summer window when he saw the opportunity, he didn’t have to think twice before signing Vieira, as he disclosed in a club statement.
Personal Life
The Portuguese midfielder has been in a long-term relationship with a Portuguese beauty. Her name is Carina Raquel. Vieira made a public announcement about their relationship through his Instagram where he stated that carina is his soulmate.
The couple has been together for a long time. Carina has even moved to London to be with her boyfriend, Fábio. She is younger than Vieira by one year as she was born in 2001. Carina likes to keep her life private and has not shared any personal information with the media yet but the fact that the couple looks to be very much in love cannot be denied.
Contract with Arsenal F.C.
Everyone at Arsenal welcomed the young player Fábio Vieira, into the club this year, after it was made officially official. The club had announced their young midfielder on June 21 after they teased his welcome by spelling out “F-A-B-I-O” with the first letter of consecutive tweets, cleverly spotted by many on Arsenal Twitter.
Mikel Arteta had been eyeing the footballer for quite a long time. After having signed Vieira officially, the club expressed how pleased they were to get Vieira on board. Mikel Arteta said,” 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.”
The Portuguese attacking midfielder is expected to bring intensity, pace, and intelligence to an Arsenal FC squad. Arsenal, through some restructuring by the way of the transfer window under Mikel Arteta, is hoping to secure a berth in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League. Fabio is going to be wearing a number 21 shirt.
After the signing of the contract for 6 years, as of 2022, Vieira’s approximate figure of net worth is 2.5 million pounds. Sources of his wealth come from the salary he earns as a footballer, as well as his bonuses and endorsement deals.