Dropped by Ronaldo, 44-year-old now leaves world stars in despair | OneFootball

From just six meters, Lautaro Martínez gets the chance to avert the elimination of Champions League finalist Inter Milan against the underdog Fluminense in the Club World Cup. Half-falling, he shoots at the goal in the 82nd minute, but keeper Fábio just manages to bring his legs together and keeps his team in the lead with 1-0. A strong reaction from the 44-year-old, who... Wait! The 44-year-old?!?

That's right, the Brazilians are playing with a man between the posts who has reached an age where even football Methuselah Cristiano Ronaldo (40) would say: "Já chega." ("That's enough already.") However, Fábio sees it differently and recently extended his contract until 2026. Even more impressive is the fact that he is not sitting on the bench as an experienced veteran, stepping in when needed. He is the first-choice keeper for Fluminense.

Sad Farewell

He actually shouldn't be. Not because he's 44 years old, but because he originally planned to end his career elsewhere. For 17 years, he played at Cruzeiro before the club was relegated to the second division in December 2019 and faced financial problems. Fábio stayed for two more years, wanting to lead his beloved club back to the top tier.

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Then, however, Brazilian striker legend Ronaldo came, took over Cruzeiro with an investor group, and really said: "That's enough." To the dismay of the keeper and fans, Fábio was let go in January 2022 after a total of 976 games and twelve titles for Cruzeiro. He was deemed too old and too expensive for the club's rebuild, according to the new management. "It was an extremely unpopular decision, like others we had to make. It was a very difficult moment, and the fans reacted with shocking aggression," Ronaldo explained in 2023 on 'SporTV'.

When the farewell was announced, there were protests and death threats. The keeper himself spoke publicly, emphasizing how hard the club's decision hit him. He wanted to extend his contract, and the previous president had already presented him with a contract ready for signing. These agreements were ignored by the new bosses.

He also contradicted the claim that he was too expensive on his Instagram profile: "I want to clarify that I would have accepted the adjustment to the new salary cap, but even this option was not given to me by the new club management."

A New Beginning Over 40

His heart was broken. It would have been easy to just quit now. To throw the gloves in the corner and leave behind this business where gratitude and loyalty mean nothing.

Instead, Fábio found a new club and landed not at a small village club in obscurity, but at the top team Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro.

Club President Mário Bittencourt had to overcome resistance from within his own ranks, as he revealed in the documentary 'Todo Dia é 4 de Novembro': "We had a remarkable conversation with André (Carvalho, goalkeeper coach; editor's note) in my office. I said: 'I will bring Fábio.' And he said: 'Well, President, he's over 40 and I have some doubts.' Then I said: 'We've known each other for years, but I'm not asking you about this commitment, I'm telling you, I will do it.'"

Carvalho mainly wondered if Fábio would be able to build the play with his feet, as coach Fernando Diniz demanded. Could someone over 40 still learn new skills? Fábio could!

"In the first two months, he always came half an hour earlier so I could train his play-building with his feet, and then he got better and better," revealed coach Diniz. The goalkeeper coach was also impressed, according to club boss Bittencourt: "André [Carvalho] came into my office and said: 'President, the guy is incredible.'"

The Greatest Achievements

Fábio became the first-choice keeper and about two years later stood with Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores final. There, they defeated Boca Juniors and secured the title in South America's most important club competition. It was the first time Fábio could win this tournament. This success had always eluded him with Cruzeiro. Perhaps it was fate that the relationship with his former club had to break so that he could reach new heights in the final years of his career.

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Incidentally, Fluminense and Fábio also qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup in the USA. There, the goalkeeper played every game over the full distance and kept a clean sheet in three out of four matches. Including the opening game against Borussia Dortmund. And, of course, in the 2-0 round of 16 match against Inter.

Tonight, the quarter-final against Al-Hilal is on. If they win there too, the dream of the title lives on. A dream that seemed already over for Fábio after his dramatic exit from Cruzeiro. And a success that Ronaldo certainly did not expect from him three and a half years ago.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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