Playing careerSabatini made his professional debut with Perugia in 1973, playing at Serie B level with the Umbrian club. After a short stint at Varese, he was acquired by Roma in 1976, where he had the chance to make his Serie A debut. He successively returned at Perugia, where he was prevented from playing because of a muscular injury that did not allow him to play any games for two years, including a season with no appearances at Palermo. Since then, after two years of inactivity, Sabatini found himself out of the limelight, and spent the following years playing in the lower ranks of Italian professional football before retiring in 1984