Manchester United player profile - Fabio da Silva

Fabio da Silva more widely known as simply Fabio, Manchester United and Brazil footballer, was born on 09 July 1990 in Petropolis, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Fabio da Silva was a twin and along with his footballing brother Rafael began to play football at a very early age. As an eleven year old Fabio da Silva was spotted by Brazilian club Fluminense who asked him and his brother to play for the club which they did. Fabio da Silva progressed with Fluminense where he played at a youth and then professional level. Whilst playing in a youth tournament in Hong Kong in 2005 Fabio da Silva and his brother first came to the attention of Manchester United who then contacted Fluminense to seek permission for both Fabio da Silva and his brother to come to England to train with the club.

Fabio da Silva and his brother were starting to be noticed by some of Europe's bigger clubs amongst others Arsenal and Real Madrid who were reportedly interested in the twins. It was in February 2007 that Fluminense agreed a deal for Fabio da Silva and his brother to join Premier League side Manchester United, however, they did not actualy move to Manchester until January 2008. Fabio da Silva and his twin brother were then unable to play for Manchester United until they were 18 years of age in July 2008 when they officially signed for the club. Fabio da Silva made his first competitive appearance for the club on 24 January 2009 in a home match against Tottenham Hotspur. The first time Fabio da Silva started a match with his twin brother Rafael was on 19 April 2009 in an FA Cup semi final loss against Everton.