Early career Born in
Rio de Janeiro, he began his career as a
forward in 2006, as part of 's squad. He was loaned to
Paysandu in 2007, when he played a single game, against
Tuna Luso in the
Campeonato Paraense. He left the club to defend
Quissamã, also from Rio de Janeiro state, for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. In March of the same year, Nova Iguaçu received a bid from
Remo for the defender but rejected the offer. He played 28
Série A games for the club during the
2011 season. He played his last match for Botafogo on 4 December 2011, on a 1–1 tie against
Fluminense at
Estádio Raulino de Oliveira, in
Volta Redonda, for the last round of the Série A.
São Paulo Cortez transfer to Série A club
São Paulo was announced on 17 December 2011, He played his first game for the
Tricolor on 22 January 2012, in a 4–0 victory against
Botafogo-SP at the
Estádio do Morumbi, for the
Campeonato Paulista championship. He scored his first goal for São Paulo on 23 May 2012, against
Goiás, at the
Estádio Serra Dourada, for
the year's
Copa do Brasil. In May 2013, after São Paulo knock-off from both the
State League and
Copa Libertadores, Cortez was removed from the club's roster by president Juvenal Juvêncio and manager
Ney Franco and, alongside four other players, transfer-listed.
Benfica (loan) São Paulo loaned Cortez to Portuguese
Primeira Liga side
Benfica for a year in July 2013. Arriving at the Portuguese side, he stated that playing in Europe was his opportunity to earn a spot back at the
Brazilian squad and end his two-year absence. Falling out of favour at
Jorge Jesus' squad, Cortez ended his loan spell on 11 January 2014 and returned to São Paulo. Cortez was reported stating "I'll be eternally thankful to the Portuguese club for everything that they did for me and to Jorge Jesus for the opportunity. It didn't work out due to things that happen in football, but I'm positive that I left with an open door."
Criciúma (loan) São Paulo loaned Cortez again, this time to
Criciúma in April 2014 for the duration of the
2014 season.
Albirex Niigata (loan) On 20 January 2015, Cortez signed a two-year loan deal with
Albirex Niigata.
Grêmio After two years playing in Japan, Cortez came back to Brazil in 2017 and discussed his contractual rescission with
São Paulo. At this moment, Cortez prioritize to play in his home country. He joined
Grêmio shortly after cutting ties with São Paulo. ==International career==