Early career Diego Carlos began his senior career with
Desportivo Brasil. In September 2012, Diego Carlos signed for
São Paulo, playing for their B-Team. He went on to sign for
Paulista and
Madureira for loan spells. He spent one year with their development team before going on loan to
Porto B. He went on to make 19 appearances with them in the
Liga Portugal 2. After his loan move, Diego Carlos featured for Estoril in the
Primeira Liga, scoring his first goal for the club on 25 October 2015. in a 2–2 draw against
Rio Ave.
Nantes in 2018 In June 2016, it was announced Diego Carlos would join
Nantes on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Estoril was an estimated €2 million. He made his debut for Nantes on 25 October 2016, in a 2–1 victory over
Angers in the
Coupe de la Ligue. His first goal for the club came on 12 February 2017, in a 3–2
Ligue 1 victory over
Marseille. On 14 January 2018, during a Ligue 1 match between Nantes and
Paris Saint-Germain, referee
Tony Chapron appeared to kick Diego Carlos following a collision before sending him off for a second bookable offence. Chapron, who was suspended by the
French Football Federation, admitted his mistake and asked for Diego Carlos' second yellow card to be rescinded. As a result, the
French football league withdrew the second yellow card.
Sevilla On 31 May 2019, Spanish club
Sevilla announced it had reached an agreement with Nantes for the transfer of Diego Carlos. He made his debut in a 2–0 away victory over
Espanyol. Diego Carlos was part of the club's successful
2019–20 UEFA Europa League campaign. In the run-up to the
final, he conceded penalties in both of Sevilla's quarter-final and semi-final matches against
Wolverhampton Wanderers and
Manchester United, respectively and then also gave away a penalty early on in the final itself against
Inter Milan on 21 August 2020. He had a hand in the game-winning goal as his
overhead kick was turned into the net by
Romelu Lukaku. In the
2021–22 season, Sevilla went on to have one of the strongest defenses in La Liga and across
Europe's top leagues, with Diego Carlos' leadership at centre-back being cited as one of the reasons for this. Because of that, Diego Carlos began to attract the interest of several clubs across Europe, with English clubs
Newcastle United and
West Ham United reportedly attempting to sign him in the January transfer window of 2022.
Aston Villa On 26 May 2022, English club
Aston Villa announced they had reached an agreement with Sevilla for Diego Carlos' transfer. The fee was undisclosed by the club but was reported to be £26 million. Ahead of his first season with Aston Villa, he was named by manager
Steven Gerrard as one of two vice-captains, alongside
Emiliano Martínez. On 6 August, he made his debut for the club in the
Premier League in 2–0 away loss against
Bournemouth. On 13 August 2022, Diego Carlos made his
Villa Park debut in a 2–1 victory over
Everton. In the same game, he ruptured his
achilles tendon, which saw him requiring surgery. He did not make his return to the field until 24 March 2023, in a behind-closed-doors friendly against
Bristol Rovers. On 9 November 2023, Diego Carlos scored his first goal for Aston Villa, in a 2–1 victory over
AZ in the
UEFA Europa Conference League.
Fenerbahçe On 23 January 2025, Diego Carlos signed three and a half year deal with
Turkish Süper Lig club
Fenerbahçe for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around €10 million. Three days later, he made his
Süper Lig debut with the team in a 3–2 won against
Göztepe in
Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium, he entered the game in the 88th minute of the match. On 5 February 2025, he suffered
medial collateral ligament injury (MCL) in his right knee in the
Turkish Cup match against
Erzurumspor and will expected to be out for about two months. On 25 March 2025, he started to train after his
MCL injury.
Loan to Como On 1 September 2025, Diego Carlos joined
Serie A club
Como on loan for the remainder of the 2025–26 season. ==International career==