[22][21] He made his professional debut on 17 August, as the Spanish Segunda División season began, playing 90 minutes in the 2–1 defeat at Villarreal.

[24] He made his debut for Real Madrid on 8 May 2013, playing 14 minutes in place of Fábio Coentrão and assisting the sixth goal by Ángel Di María in the 6–2 La Liga victory over Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

[31] On 20 March 2016, Fabinho won a penalty when fouled by compatriot David Luiz, and converted it for a 2–0 win that was Paris Saint-Germain's first home defeat since May 2014.

[32] On 21 February 2017, Fabinho provided one assist each to Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé in a 5–3 away defeat against Manchester City in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first-leg match.

[21] His debut for the club came as an injury-time substitute for Sadio Mané in a Champions League group match against Paris Saint-Germain on 18 September, a 3–2 win at Anfield.

[42][43] He made his league debut in a 1–0 win at Huddersfield Town on 20 October, coming on for the last 21 minutes in place of Adam Lallana.

[44] A week later he was granted a first league start in a 4–1 home victory against Cardiff City in central midfield alongside Georginio Wijnaldum, and received praise from Sky Sports.

[49][50] On 12 January 2019, Fabinho again played in a centre-back position in a 0–1 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion and was highly praised for his role in the win by Garth Crooks.

[54] On 7 May 2019, Fabinho was a standout performer as Liverpool overturned a three-goal deficit and beat Barcelona 4–0 in the second leg of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League semi-finals to advance to the final.

[56] Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher later noted that Fabinho was "particularly prominent" in patrolling the central zone of the pitch in the game,[57] in addition lauding him for an "exquisite" tackle on Messi.

[58] Fabinho later described the game as the "biggest match" of his life and described the recitation of the 'You'll Never Walk Alone' anthem by the Anfield crowd as the "most defining moment" of his career.

[65] On 27 November 2019, during a crucial Champions League match against Napoli, he suffered an early ankle injury after falling awkwardly during a challenge and was substituted after 18 minutes.

[68] On 24 June 2020, Fabinho scored a long-range goal from more than thirty yards in a victory against Crystal Palace and was described by journalist Phil McNulty as a "complete operator" who "showed all sides of his game in what turned into a stroll".

[70][71] Thus, Fabinho celebrated his 41st victory in what was his 50th Premier League appearance; only Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Ederson and Aymeric Laporte have won more of their opening 50 games in the competition.

[78] During the 2020–21 season, Fabinho had to play as a centre-back due to the club's injury problems, one of which being the absence of key defender Virgil van Dijk for some time.

[79][80] On 20 September 2020, Fabinho was widely praised by analysts for a performance in a 0–2 victory against Chelsea in which he made more passes (90) and gained possession more times (12) than any other player.

[81][82] In a Champions League group stage match on 21 October 2020, Fabinho executed an overhead kick clearance off the goal-line to preserve a clean sheet for Liverpool as his side beat Ajax 1–0.

[84] After again playing as a centre-back in a Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 8 December 2020, Fabinho was praised by Alan Shearer, who called his defending "superb".

[87] On 30 December 2020, Fabinho was named in football analyst Garth Crooks' Premier League team of the year along with teammates Sadio Mané, Jordan Henderson, Alisson Becker, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

[101] On 3 May 2022, in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Fabinho scored a goal against Villarreal though the legs of goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli to aid Liverpool in progressing to the final.

[102] Fabinho later earned a runners-up medal in the Champions League,[103] losing the final to Real Madrid with a scoreline of 0–1 on 28 May 2022, and was selected as part of the Team of the Season.

[107] On 30 July 2022, Fabinho started for Liverpool in the club's 3–1 win over Manchester City in the FA Community Shield at the King Power Stadium.

[144][145] In the midst of the 2023–24 season, with the lack of a long-term option to succeed him in defensive midfield, it was suggested by journalist David Brindle that Fabinho's departure from the club could be a "big regret" for it.

[149][150] Included in coach Dunga's 23-man squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, Fabinho made his debut in a warm-up match against Mexico on 7 June of that year, as a half-time substitute for Danilo in a 2–0 victory at Allianz Parque in São Paulo.

His role as defensive midfielder sometimes requires him to drop further back to play as a third centre-back to cover for Liverpool's fullbacks Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Fabinho's vision and reading of the game are considered outstanding and have led to him being nicknamed 'The Lighthouse' by Liverpool assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders and his teammates.

[161] Such attributes have led sports journalist Jonathan Liew to call him a "midfielder whose superior reading of the game can occasionally offer the illusion of clairvoyance".

[171] Fabinho has drawn praise for his ability and achievements from eminent footballing figures such as Michael Owen,[156] Gary Neville,[157] and Ronaldinho, with the latter calling him a "champion with Liverpool and a very important player for them [as well]" and somebody for whom he had the "utmost respect".

[180][181] Rebeca was a professional footballer and initially played at a high level as an attacker in Spain, later signing for AS Monaco FF in January 2018 before retiring the same year to support her husband upon his move to Merseyside.

[188][189] Fabinho is known to spend time with compatriots and teammates Alisson and Roberto Firmino as well as countrymen Ederson and Fred at their houses with their families.