I was better than Cristiano Ronaldo and played for Chelsea, now I'm an adult film star after drastic career change

10/31/2024 11:57 AM

A former Chelsea winger has swapped football for the adult film industry after a dramatic career change.

That’s not the only eyebrow raising revelation he has made either, with him also claiming he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo but was let down by his mentality.

Fabio Paim came through Sporting Lisbon’s academy after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who is three years older.

As a teenage prospect, Paim was capped at youth level by Portugal and was even called up by the senior squad, but never made an appearance.

He also spent five months on loan at Stamford Bridge from Sporting in 2008 without featuring for the first-team.

Following two years without a club, he ended his playing days with a brief spell in Poland before retiring in 2021.

And after hanging up his boots, the 36-year-old has since started working as a an adult film star.

Opening up on his career change, he told Globo Esporte, via Record: “Here in Portugal [the news about the adult film] is all the rage, everyone is going crazy.

“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.”

Paim even went on to claim he was seen as a bigger talent than Ronaldo in Sporting’s academy.

The Al-Nassr star started his career with the club before going on to set records at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

His fellow academy graduate added: “He grew up with me, we spent a long time together.

“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.”

Following his loan spell with the Blues, Paim embarked on a nomadic career around the world.

Before retiring aged 32, he played for clubs in Angola, Qatar, Malta, Lithuania and Luxembourg.