Juventude and Grêmio Telles was born in
Caxias do Sul, a city in the Brazilian state of
Rio Grande do Sul. At the age of eight, he began playing football with the neighbouring kids and was later enrolled to a youth academy of
Esporte Clube Juventude. Telles began his professional career with Juventude, making his debut on 24 January 2011 against
São José-PA. He scored his first goal on 20 August in a 1–1 home draw against
Cruzeiro. In December, Telles was transferred to
Grêmio after a partnership was established with Juventude. He made his Grêmio debut on 3 February 2013 against
Internacional. On 26 May, Telles made his
Série A debut, starting in a 2–0 home win against
Náutico.
Galatasaray in 2014 On 22 January 2014, after long negotiations, Telles completed a move to Turkish club
Galatasaray for €6 million, signing a contract that would keep him with the club until 2018. He made his debut two weeks later, starting in a 3–0 win against
Tokatspor for
the campaign's
Turkish Cup, and made his maiden
Süper Lig debut in a 3–0 home victory against
Eskişehirspor on 8 February 2014. Telles made his first assist for the club against
Antalyaspor in a 2–2 away game on 17 February. He also scored his first goal for Galatasaray against
Akhisar Belediyespor on 8 March in a 6–1 home win. In August 2015, there were rumours mentioning Telles as a good choice to fill the place made by the departure of left-back
Filipe Luís at
Chelsea. In response to the rumour, Galatasaray manager
Hamza Hamzaoğlu said the club would only be tempted by an acceptable offer.
Loan to Inter Milan On 31 August 2015, Galatasaray agreed to let Telles join Italian club
Internazionale of
Serie A on a one-year loan for a €1.3 million fee, in addition to €250,000 if Inter qualify for the group stage of the
2016–17 UEFA Champions League. The deal included a buyout option for €8.5 million, Telles reunited with Internazionale manager
Roberto Mancini in Italy, who previously coached him at Galatasaray. He made his debut for the club on 13 September in the
2015–16 Serie A matchday 3 against city rivals
Milan, playing the entirety of the match as Inter won 1–0.
Porto in 2018 On 12 July 2016, Portuguese side
FC Porto announced the signing of Telles for a €6.5 million fee. According to a Galatasaray press release, the
Istanbul club reserved a further 10% of any added value in a future transfer deal. The following day, after signing a five-year contract, he stated:
"I ambition titles, I ambition a very beautiful story. I have recently commented with my relatives that I do not want to come here in passing, I want to leave a legacy." On 12 August, in a 3–1 away win against
Rio Ave, he marked his league debut and first competitive match with a poor performance and subsequent expulsion. Despite the rough start, Telles gradually cemented himself in the team's starting eleven, scoring his first goal when facing rivals
Boavista in a 3–1 home victory at
Estádio do Dragão.
Manchester United On 5 October 2020,
Manchester United had agreed a deal in principle to sign Telles for a fee believed to be £15.4 million. The transfer was completed and Telles was announced as a United player that day. He made his debut playing as a left wing-back on 20 October in a 2–1 win over
Paris Saint-Germain in the
UEFA Champions League group stage. On 29 September 2021, Telles scored his first goal for Manchester United with a left-footed volley from outside the penalty area in a 2–1 home win against
Villarreal CF in the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Loan to Sevilla On 4 August 2022, Telles was loaned to
La Liga club
Sevilla until the end of the 2022–23 season.
Al-Nassr On 23 July 2023 Alex Telles was introduced by
Al-Nassr, signing a contract valid until 2025. According to European media, the transfer fee was approximately €7 million (R$38 million). On 25 July, head coach
Luís Castro made Telles' debut in a pre-season friendly against
Paris Saint-Germain, resulting in a 0–0 tie in
Japan. Despite being used often throughout the 2023-24 season, participating in 40 games, Alex Telles' contract was mutually canceled on 2 September 2024. His contract with the Saudi club was originally scheduled to last until June 2025, the decision was made because of the club's new plans, not because of bad performances by Telles, as he was loved by the fans for how much passion he had for the club. in 2024
Botafogo On 3 September 2024, Telles returned to Brazil and signed for
Botafogo on a 2-year contract that ends on 31 December 2026. On 1 December, 2024, Telles was named in the starting 11 for
Botafogo in the
Copa Libertadores final. In that game, Telles scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win for a historical title. ==International career==