Fábio was born 9 July 1990 in the Petropolis district of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and is the twin brother of Rafael da Silva who also plays for Manchester United. The "da Silva" part of his name is not printed on his Manchester United football strip and he is often referred to as "Fábio" in media articles and on the club's official website. Fábio's professional football career began with Fluminense in Brazil where he played at youth level. In 2007 Fábio captained Brazil's national under 17 team in the FIFA U-17 World Cup where he scored 3 goals.