Early career Born in
São Luís, Maranhão, Sousa began his career at his hometown team
Moto Club's youth setup before moving to
Palmeiras in 2005, aged 15. Released by the club in the following year, he subsequently joined
Nacional's under-20 squad after a trial period. Sent back to Brazil in the middle of 2008 to nurse an injury, Sousa never returned to Nacional. and made his debut for the club the following 17 January, by starting in a 1–0 home win against
Cascavel CR, for the year's
Campeonato Paranaense. He scored his first goal for the club on 31 March, netting his team's second in a 2–2 home draw against the same opponent, but was released in April after scoring only two goals.
Leixões In July 2010, Sousa moved abroad for the second time, again to Portugal, joining
Leixões of the
Liga de Honra. He made his professional debut on 8 August, starting in a 0–0 away draw against
Trofense, for
the season's
Taça da Liga; his first goal abroad occurred on 10 November, in a 2–1 loss at
Paços de Ferreira, also for the league cup. Sousa contributed with three goals in 14 appearances overall, as his side finished
sixth.
Interclube In June 2011, Sousa switched continents again, signing for
Interclube in the
Girabola of Angola. However, he failed to make a single appearance during his time at the club, as his international certificate never arrived; he subsequently terminated his contract with the club in early 2012, but still remained six months without a club.
Tondela / Portimonense Sousa returned to Portugal's second tier in July 2012 with
Tondela, being a regular starter during
the campaign and scoring four times. The following year, he moved to fellow second division side
Portimonense on 11 June, in a deal for two seasons. At Portimonense, Sousa scored braces in home wins against
Atlético CP (4–0) and
Marítimo B (2–1), finishing his only year with seven goals overall.
Marítimo On 13 July 2014, Sousa signed a three-year contract with
Primeira Liga club
Marítimo. In his
first season on the island of
Madeira, he scored twice, both in a 4–0 home win over
Boavista on 30 November, but the
following campaign he recorded 12 goals and made the top ten scorers of the year. He also started six matches in the club's Taça da Liga run, that ended on 20 May 2016 with a 6–2 loss to
Benfica in the
final at the
Estádio Cidade de Coimbra. In August 2016, in a friendly against Tondela, Sousa attacked a linesman, and was given a nine-month ban by the
Portuguese Football Federation in November, which was rescinded by a court the following month.
Braga Sousa and compatriot teammate
Fransérgio agreed on 31 January 2017 to transfer to
Braga at the end of the season, by which point he would be out of contract; he signed a four-year deal and Marítimo secured a share of any subsequent transfer fee. On 12 August 2018, in the season opener, Sousa was one of three players to score two goals in a 4–2 win at home to
Nacional. He scored a
hat-trick on 14 December in a 4–0 win over
Feirense also at the
Estádio Municipal de Braga. Sousa and teammate
Paulinho were joint top scorers with four goals in the
2018–19 Taça da Liga with four goals each, including a third-minute strike in the defeat to eventual champions
Sporting CP in the semi-final. On 6 March 2019, he signed a new contract until 2022, and finished the league campaign as Braga's top scorer (joint fourth overall) with 15 goals.
Shenzhen After rejecting bids of €12–15 million in January, Braga sold Sousa to
Chinese Super League club
Shenzhen for €5.6 million in July 2019. In his third game, he scored his first two goals in a 4–0 home win over
Guangzhou R&F on 14 August to escape the relegation zone. On 31 January 2020, Sousa returned to Portugal's top flight, joining
Benfica on loan without the option to sign. He debuted eight days later in a 3–2 loss at
Porto in
O Clássico, replacing
André Almeida for the last five minutes. He made 13 scoreless appearances for the team from
Lisbon, including 14 minutes of their 2–1 loss to Porto in the
2020 Taça de Portugal Final on 1 August. Sousa signed for
Famalicão on 5 October 2020. After five games and no goals in two months, he rescinded his deal and went back to China.
Almería On 31 August 2021, Sousa agreed to a one-year contract with
Almería in the Spanish
Segunda División. Playing mostly from the bench, he contributed 24 games and five goals to their
title-winning season, starting with a hat-trick in a 4–1 win at
Mirandés on his first start on 24 October. Sousa signed a new contract in March 2022, lasting until 2024. On 14 August, he made his
La Liga debut in a 2–1 home loss to
Real Madrid, as a 71st-minute substitute for
Umar Sadiq. On 9 August 2023, Sousa terminated his contract with the
Andalusians.
Alcorcón On 17 August 2023, Sousa joined
Alcorcón also in the Spanish second division. ==International career==