Who is Fabio Martins? Meet the Portuguese forward who scored for Al-Khaleej against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr were pegged back by Al-Khaleej winger Fabio Martins' early goal during the two teams' clash on Monday, May 8.
Martins needed less than four minutes to put his side ahead at the KSU Stadium in their Saudi Pro League encounter. The 29-year-old forward converted from Andrew Eric Feltosa's assist to give the visitors the lead.
His goal against Al-Nassr quickly brought him into focus, with many fans asking the same question: Who exactly is Fabio Martins?
Martins was born July 24, 1993, to former Brazilian footballer Niromar Campos, though there is no information available on his mother. He is a left-winger who joined Al-Khaleej in January this year, around the same time Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Al-Nassr.
The winger, who has both Brazilian and Portuguese citizenship, has represented as many as eight clubs over the course of his senior career. He has also played 28 times at various age categories for Portugal, with his most recent appearances coming back in 2013 when he made his debut for A Selecao's U21s.
Martins was originally part of FC Porto's academy and also spent time with fellow Portuguese side Padroense's age-group teams. He made his way up to Porto's B team before joining Desportivo Aves in 2013.
The forward was repeatedly loaned out by Braga, his next club, and featured for several Portuguese sides including Pacos Ferreira, Chaves and Famalicao. He then secured another loan stint with UAE Pro League team Al-Wahda FC Abu Dhabi in September 2021 before departing the club a year later.
Overall, Fabio Martins has made 252 senior club appearances, recording 58 goals and 24 assists. The majority of those matches were for Braga, for whom he played 65 times. However, he scored the most goals for Famalicao, netting 12 times in 36 matches.
Since joining Al-Khaleej, Martins has recorded six goals and an assist in 12 Saudi Pro League matches. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the only players with a better record since then, scoring 12 times in as many league games for Al-Nassr.
Al-Nassr respond to Fabio Martins' early goal, but Al-Khaleej keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet
Fabio Martins' fourth-minute goal for Al-Khaleej was a shock to the home supporters at the KSA Stadium. However, Al-Nassr responded in the 17th minute through Alvaro Gonzalez, who converted Abdulrahman Ghareeb's assist.
At the time of writing, the score remains 1-1 with 53 minutes gone on the clock. Despite conceding the equalizer, Al-Khaleej have done well to limit Cristiano Ronaldo so far.
Ronaldo has had just one shot on target, which was saved, and attempted just 18 passes, completing 14. The legendary attacker has also been dispossessed eight times. However, he has won four fouls and six of his nine duels.