Paim, a 36-year-old ex-Portuguese winger, began his career alongside Ronaldo at Sporting Lisbon’s academy and briefly played on loan at Chelsea in 2008. He recently revealed that he started working in the adult film industry earlier this month.
Since announcing his career shift, Paim has been making headlines. “In Portugal, the news about the pornographic film is all the rage; everyone is going crazy,” he stated in an interview with Globo Esporte via Record.
“People aren’t taking it the wrong way; that’s just who I am. I mentioned on a podcast that my dream was to be a porn actor, and I received many offers. I was in the news, on the front pages, and hadn’t even done anything yet.”
He added, “Since everyone was talking about it, I thought, why not make a film? And I did. I’ll tell you one thing: it’s nice to have sex and get paid for it.”
Paim, who once showed great promise as a footballer while rising through the ranks with Ronaldo at Sporting, believes his mindset ultimately held him back. He retired in 2018 without earning a single international cap, while Ronaldo became one of the greatest players in history.
Reflecting on their time together, Paim said, “We grew up together and spent a long-time side by side. At that time, I was Sporting’s top player. Cristiano started to shine when he moved to Manchester. Even then, nobody predicted he would become what he is today.
“Today, Cristiano is the king, while I’m a nobody. People may call me a liar or say I wasn’t better, but the truth is I was more talented than him, and everyone knows it. However, talent alone isn’t enough; if you lack the rest, you’ll end up as nobody.”
During a recent podcast appearance, Paim even joked that Ronaldo should give him one of his five Ballon d’Or awards. “Cristiano Ronaldo should offer me one of his Ballon d’Ors. I joined Sporting when I was seven and had glorious years there, winning everything I could. I didn’t achieve what I could have, but I left my mark on a generation. If people still remember me, it’s because of that,” he remarked.
He added, “I was happy when I thought Cristiano might give me a Ballon d’Or, but I said it with humility. If I had half of Cristiano’s mentality, there would be me, him, and Messi in the conversation, and perhaps he wouldn’t have won as many Ballon d’Ors. Maybe one of them would have been mine.”
In response, Ronaldo took to Instagram to deliver a sharp retort: “Wtf??? Who is this guy?”
