Sporting Born in Vila Real, Simão started his career at
Sporting CP, whose
youth system had just produced
Luís Figo. During his two-year spell he played 62 competitive games with the first team, his first goal coming in his debut at only 17 in a 3–0 away win against
S.C. Salgueiros.
Barcelona Simão moved to
FC Barcelona in the 1999 off-season on a £10 million transfer, partnering with Figo in
his first year as they finished second in
La Liga to
Deportivo de La Coruña. On 21 October 2000, in a match remembered for his compatriot's treatment by Barça fans on his return to the
Camp Nou in the colours of new team
Real Madrid, he scored in a 2–0
El Clásico win. In 2001, after a comparatively low-key tenure at the Spanish club under manager
Louis van Gaal, Simão spoke of his desire for a move back to Sporting.
Benfica Simão instantly became a fan-favorite as his new team, quickly acquiring the status of
captain. Also, during his six-year stint, he always finished as their top scorer, also ranking high in the global domestic charts, notably in the
2002–03 season as he scored a
Primeira Liga and career-best 18 goals. In
the following campaign, Simão scored Benfica's second goal in a 2–1
extra-time victory over
FC Porto in
the final of the
Taça de Portugal, ending the club's eight-year silverware drought. In
2004–05, as the side won the national championship after an 11-year wait, he played in all the matches and minutes, netting 15 times. They also reached
the domestic cup final in a 1–2 loss against
Vitória de Setúbal, with him scoring through a fourth-minute
penalty; in
the campaign's
UEFA Cup he also appeared in all the matches, netting four times including twice against
Dukla Banská Bystrica in a 3–0 away win, with his team eventually reaching the
round-of-32. The 2005 summer
transfer window saw Simão targeted by Liverpool in an offer worth approximately £12 million, though negotiations reportedly failed over Benfica's increase in asking price. He continued his excellent form into
2005–06, helping his side in the
UEFA Champions League campaign, where they made it to
the quarter-finals. He played in eight of a possible ten matches in the tournament, including the 1–2 loss at
Manchester United in the group stage, firing his team level shortly before the hour with a
free kick after he himself had been fouled by
Alan Smith; in the knockout stages he helped stun
title holders Liverpool, unleashing an unstoppable shot into the top left-hand corner of
Pepe Reina's goal, as the Portuguese won 2–0 at
Anfield and 3–0 overall. The following year several clubs, such as Manchester United and again Liverpool also revealed interest in Simão, but he decided to stay at the
Estádio da Luz.
Atlético Madrid during a match for
Atlético Madrid Finally, on 26 July 2007,
Atlético Madrid reached an agreement to sign Simão from Benfica for a fee of €20 million. During his first two seasons, in which he was an undisputed starter, he scored seven goals apiece, as the team finished fourth in the top division on both occasions. On 12 April 2009, Simão entered in the hundred-year history of the
capital club by scoring its 4,000th goal in the league with a left-footed diagonal shot against Deportivo. In the ensuing summer he became one of Atlético's captains for
the new campaign, receiving that role from coach
Abel Resino after a reshuffle; as the
Colchoneros underachieved overall, he scored in the
Champions League at
APOEL FC in a 1–1 away draw, a goal that secured the club's place in
the season's UEFA Europa League. On 14 January 2010, Simão scored twice in a 5–1 home victory over
Recreativo de Huelva that qualified to
the quarter-finals of the
Copa del Rey (5–4 on aggregate), including through an 83rd-minute free kick from 20 metres to decide the tie. He also grabbed an important goal in the Europa League against
Galatasaray SK as the team eventually won the competition, with the player appearing in
the final against
Fulham. Simão began the
2010–11 season on a high note, scoring three goals in the first seven games – notably in a 1–1 draw at
Valencia CF on 22 September 2010. He also captained the side more frequently due to the absence of
Antonio López, most notably in the
UEFA Super Cup's
2–0 defeat of
Inter Milan, where he set up a goal for
Sergio Agüero.
Beşiktaş On 22 December 2010, aged 31, Sabrosa signed with
Süper Lig's
Beşiktaş JK for €900,000, reuniting with Portugal teammates
Hugo Almeida and
Ricardo Quaresma. On 11 May 2011, he scored the decisive penalty in
the shootout as they
won the
Turkish Cup against
İstanbul Başakşehir FK (4–3, 2–2 after
extra time). Simão faced his previous team in the
2011–12 Europa League round-of-16, scoring in a 1–3 loss at the
Vicente Calderón Stadium (1–6 on aggregate).
Espanyol Simão joined
RCD Espanyol on a
free transfer on 17 August 2012, signing a two-year contract. He scored his first goal with his new club on 7 December, featuring as a second-half
substitute for
Rui Fonte and heading in from a
corner kick in an eventual 2–2 home draw against
Sevilla FC. Simão was released on 22 May 2014, alongside
Joan Capdevila. In April 2015, having been inactive for ten months, he said that he was finding it difficult to attract a new club at the age of 35, and was considering the possibility of entering management.
NorthEast United On 25 June 2015,
Indian Super League club
NorthEast United FC announced they had signed Simão as a marquee player. He captained the team in his debut match on 9 September, also scoring in the
friendly with
AmaZulu FC. Initially sidelined by injury, Simão made his competitive debut on 20 October against
Chennaiyin FC at the
Indira Gandhi Stadium, replacing
Francis Dadzie after 74 minutes and winning a last-minute penalty which he converted to open a 2–0 win which gave the team their first points of
the season. On 3 November, immediately after replacing compatriot
Silas, he scored a free kick to close a 1–1 draw at
Delhi Dynamos FC; four days later, from the penalty spot, he decided an away win at
Atlético de Kolkata.
Post-retirement Simão returned to Benfica on 14 September 2017, being appointed head of international relations after longtime club and international teammate
Nuno Gomes, who had just left his post as director of the
Futebol Campus academy in
Seixal, rejected the offer. ==International career==