Fábio Lima (footballer, born 1993)
Emirati footballer (born 1993)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fábio Virginio de Lima (Arabic: فابيو دي ليما; born 30 June 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Al Wasl. Born in Brazil, he represents the United Arab Emirates national team.
|
Fábio Lima with Al Wasl in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fábio Virginio de Lima | ||
| Date of birth | 30 June 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Araçagi, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al Wasl | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Atlético Goianiense | ||
| 2012–2013 | → São Paulo (loan) | ||
| 2013 | → Vasco da Gama (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011 | Icasa | 19 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Atlético Goianiense | 36 | (10) |
| 2013 | → Vasco da Gama (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Al Wasl (loan) | 24 | (16) |
| 2015– | Al Wasl | 268 | (183) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020– | United Arab Emirates | 44 | (17) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14 October 2025 | |||
Club career
Lima was signed by 2nd tier club Atlético Goianiense in 2012 after having a shorter span with Icasa. In 2013, he was loaned out to Serie A club Vasco da Gama making a single appearance.
On 21 July 2014, Lima joined UAE Football League side Al Wasl on a two-year loan after being recommended by manager Jorginho.[2]
International career
In February 2020, Lima obtained Emirati passport.[3] On 12 October 2020, he made his international debut for the United Arab Emirates in a friendly match against Uzbekistan.[4]
On 4 January 2024, Lima was named in the UAE's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[5] Later that year, on 19 November, he netted four goals in a 5–0 victory over Qatar during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.[6]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Icasa | 2011 | Série B | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8[c] | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| Atlético Goianiense | 2012 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |||
| 2013 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 10 | 5 | |||||
| 2014 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 15[d] | 3 | 27 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 18 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 42 | 12 | ||
| Vasco da Gama (loan) | 2013 | Série A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Al Wasl (loan) | 2014–15 | UAE Pro League | 24 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 31 | 18 | ||
| Al Wasl | 2015–16 | 26 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | – | – | 35 | 28 | |||
| 2016–17 | 26 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | – | – | 35 | 31 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 21 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 4[e] | 2 | – | 37 | 27 | |||
| 2018–19 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3[e] | 1 | 4[f] | 0 | 35 | 17 | ||
| 2019–20 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | – | 3[f] | 2 | 31 | 24 | |||
| 2020–21 | 23 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 26 | 23 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 17 | 5 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 25 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 30 | 21 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 25 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | – | – | 36 | 25 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9[g] | 3 | 1[h] | 1 | 38 | 15 | ||
| 2025–26 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[i] | 4 | – | 30 | 12 | |||
| Total | 268 | 183 | 30 | 18 | 55 | 32 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 383 | 246 | ||
| Career total | 296 | 190 | 37 | 20 | 55 | 32 | 21 | 10 | 34 | 6 | 446 | 258 | ||
- Includes Copa do Brasil, UAE President's Cup
- Includes UAE League Cup
- Appearances in Campeonato Cearense
- Appearances in Campeonato Goiano
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
- Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite
- Appearance in UAE Super Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite
International
- As of match played 14 October 2025[7]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 2020 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 6 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 44 | 17 | |
- Scores and results list United Arab Emirates' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lima goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 March 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  India |
5–0 | 6–0 | Friendly | [8] |
| 2 | 3 June 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Malaysia |
2–0 | 4–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [9] |
| 3 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 June 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Thailand |
2–0 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [10] |
| 5 | 11 June 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Indonesia |
2–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [11] |
| 6 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 19 November 2022 | Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |  Kazakhstan |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | [12] |
| 8 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 9 | 13 January 2023 | Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium, Basra, Iraq |  Qatar |
1–0 | 1–1 | 25th Arabian Gulf Cup | [13] |
| 10 | 16 November 2023 | Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Nepal |
4–0 | 4–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [14] |
| 11 | 26 March 2024 | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City, Khobar, Saudi Arabia |  Yemen |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [15] |
| 12 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 13 | 19 November 2024 | Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Qatar |
1–0 | 5–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [16] |
| 14 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 15 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 16 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 17 | 25 March 2025 | Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |  North Korea |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [17] |