Fábio Lima (footballer, born 1993)

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 at international level.

Fábio Lima

Fábio Lima with Al Wasl in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Fábio Virginio de Lima
Date of birth	(1993-06-30) 30 June 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Araçagi, Brazil
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, winger
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)
2012–2014	Atlético Goianiense	36	(10)
2013	→ Vasco da Gama (loan)	1	(0)
2014–	Al Wasl	230	(173)
International career‡
2020–	United Arab Emirates	39	(17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:10, 28 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025 (UTC)

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 citizenship.^[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]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 January 2025

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	2013	Série A	1	0	1	0	–		–		0	0	2	0
Al Wasl	2014–15	UAE Pro League	24	16	1	1	6	1	–		–		31	18
	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		13	5	1	1	0	0	5[g]	2	1[h]	1	20	9
	Total		230	170	28	18	54	32	12	5	8	3	332	228
Career total			260	177	35	20	54	32	12	5	34	6	395	240

1. Includes Copa do Brasil, UAE President's Cup
2. Includes UAE League Cup
3. Appearances in Campeonato Cearense
4. Appearances in Campeonato Goiano
5. Appearances in AFC Champions League
6. Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup
7. Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite
8. Appearance in UAE Super Cup

International

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	29 March 2021	Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	India	5–0	6–0	Friendly
2	3 June 2021		Malaysia	2–0	4–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3				4–0
4	7 June 2021		Thailand	2–0	3–1
5	11 June 2021		Indonesia	2–0	5–0
6				4–0
7	19 November 2022	Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Kazakhstan	1–0	2–1	Friendly
8				2–1
9	13 January 2023	Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium, Basra, Iraq	Qatar	1–0	1–1	25th Arabian Gulf Cup
10	16 November 2023	Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Nepal	4–0	4–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	26 March 2024	Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City, Khobar, Saudi Arabia	Yemen	1–0	3–0
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
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

Honours

Al Wasl

• UAE Pro League: 2023–24
• UAE President's Cup: 2023–24^{[citation needed]}