Former footballer opens up on his new career as a pornstar… and insists he had ‘more talent’ than ex-team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo

A former team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken out about his new career as a pornstar.

The ex-Portuguese winger, 36, began his career alongside Ronaldo in Sporting Lisbon’s academy, and even had a brief loan spell at Chelsea in 2008, but only played for the club’s reserves.

He has now moved into a very different industry, having revealed he started working as a pornstar earlier this month.

Fabio Paim has been grabbing the headlines in his homeland since his shock announcement, and is happy to be back in the spotlight.

‘Here in Portugal [the news about the pornographic film] is all the rage, everyone is going crazy,’ Paim said in an interview with Globo Esporte via Record.

He had a brief loan spell at Chelsea in 2008, but only played for the club’s reserves

‘Do you know why? Because people don’t take it the wrong way, that’s just how I am. On a podcast, I said that my dream was to be a pornographic actor. I got a lot of offers. I was on the news, I was on the front pages of newspapers… And I hadn’t done anything. 

‘Since everyone was talking about it, [I thought] let’s make a film. And I did. I’ll tell you one thing. It’s good to have sex and still get paid for it.’

Things could have been very different for Paim as he was once a promising footballer after rising through the ranks alongside Ronaldo at Sporting.

He is three years Ronaldo’s junior, but has claimed he was widely recognised as a bigger talent than the global superstar when they were younger.

However, he believes his mentality let him down as he failed to live up to his potential before hanging up his boots in 2018 without receiving a single international cap, while Ronaldo went on to become one of the best players of all time.

‘He grew up with me, we spent a long time together,’ Paim explained as he reflected on his relationship with Ronaldo.

‘I was Sporting’s number one at that time. Cristiano started to be Cristiano when he went to Manchester. Even then, nobody knew he would become what he is today.

‘Today Cristiano is the king, Paim is nobody. And people say “oh, he’s a liar, he wasn’t better”. But the truth is that I was better than him and everyone knows that. I had more talent. But talent is nothing, talent is just a little bit. If you don’t have the rest, you’ll be nobody.’

Paim came through Sporting Lisbon’s academy with Cristiano Ronaldo and claims he was more talented than the Portuguese superstar

Paim was even more outspoken when appearing on a recent podcast, as he called for Ronaldo to give him one of his five Ballon d’Ors.

‘Cristiano Ronaldo should offer me one of his Ballon d’Ors. I went to Sporting when I was seven years old, I grew up there,’ Paim said on a podcast hosted by PT Clipes.

‘They were years of glory in which I won everything I could. I didn’t reach where I could have reached, but I marked a generation. If people don’t forget it’s because I marked them.

‘I said when I was happy that I thought Cristiano Ronaldo could offer me a Ballon d’Or. But it was with humility. If I had half of Cristiano’s head, it wouldn’t be him and Messi.

‘It would be me, him and Messi and maybe he wouldn’t have won the Ballon d’Ors that he has. Maybe one of them was mine.’

Ronaldo hit back with a savage response, writing on Instagram: ‘Wtf??? Who is this guy?’

There may be some doubt over how good Paim was as a player, but he received very positive feedback after his first porn movie.

Diana Melancia (pictured, left, in the Instagram post below), one of two women who performed alongside Paim in a sex tape that went on sale overnight for £65 on Telegram, was quoted by The Sun as saying: ‘We thought he was going to be nervous and it wouldn’t work out – but Fabio turned out to be a lion.

Paim claimed Ronaldo should give him one of his Ballon d’Ors on a recent podcast

Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Ors in his glittering football career

Ronaldo fired back at Paim after his outrageous claim, suggesting he did not even know him

‘He was good at football and he is good at porn. He’s going to be a success. I hope this film is the first of many with Paim.’

Paim was accused of rape in 2012 and again in 2015, but neither case led to a trial.

He was then arrested in 2019 on suspicion of drugs trafficking. Paim was remanded in prison following a court appearance but was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.