10 wonderkids who failed to reach their potential

#2 Fabio Paim

Fabio Paim made over 40 appearances for Portugal youth teams

Talking about sad stories, the one of Fabio Paim is probably the saddest of them all in football.

Cristiano Ronaldo himself once said: "If you think I’m good, just wait until you see Fabio Paim."

Unfortunately, we haven't seen the now 29-year-old player at the top level since a loan spell at Chelsea in 2007/08, and even then, Paim only appeared for the reserve side.

Like Ronaldo, Paim is the youth product of Sporting Lisbon. He had 42 caps for various Portugal youth sides but never made it to the senior team. He hasn't even played for any Portuguese top-flight clubs for nearly ten years.

Paim was on Sporting's books until 2010 and after that, he embarked on a world tour of some sorts. His lengthy list of former clubs includes sides in Qatar, Malta, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Brazil.

The former wonderkid returned to Europe this November, signing for Leixoes B in his home country.

So what went wrong? Why does one have five Ballon d'Or wins to his name while the other has ended up as an amateur player? Paim himself recently admitted that while he had more talent than Cristiano, he lacked the work ethic needed to make it as a professional footballer He also noted Cristiano's will to win.

Ronaldo's famous quote "talent without hardwork is nothing" pretty much perfectly sums up the story of Paim.