Early career and Oscar training for São Paulo in 2009 Born in
Americana,
São Paulo, Oscar came through the youth academy at União Barbarense and impressed from an early age. He made his professional debut with
São Paulo on 28 August 2008, in the second leg of the first stage of the
Copa Sudamericana. He played the full 90 minutes of the goalless draw with
Atlético Paranaense at the
Arena da Baixada, but he and
Juninho had their attempts saved by
Vinícius in the
penalty shootout, eliminating their team. His domestic debut came on 13 March 2009, filling in for
Jean for the final eight minutes of a 5–0 home win over
Mirassol in the
Campeonato Paulista. That year, he also made 11 substitute appearances for the team in the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
Internacional Initially, Oscar joined
Internacional after a contractual dispute with his former club São Paulo, with Oscar's agent claiming that the club had not paid salaries as promised. Oscar's representatives argued that his contract with São Paulo was null and void whereupon Oscar joined Internacional as a free agent. São Paulo continued to claim that Oscar belonged to them and lodged legal appeals which prevented Oscar from playing for Internacional in vital
Copa Libertadores fixtures. Eventually, a settlement was agreed upon between São Paulo and Internacional on 30 May 2012, severing his contract for a fee of €6 million. Oscar's first season at Internacional was blighted by injury. On 23 February 2011, as an 80th-minute substitute for
Leandro Damião, he scored his first goal for the club to conclude a 4–0 home win over
Jaguares de Chiapas at the start of Inter's defence of the
Copa Libertadores. He added two more goals in the competition before their elimination in the last 16 by
Peñarol. His first goals in domestic football came on 5 June, a brace in a 4–2 win over
América-MG in the third game of the
Série A season; he finished the season with 10 goals from 26 games.
Chelsea On 16 July 2012, Chelsea agreed on a fee of
R$61.575 million for Oscar. (according to several media, the fee was estimated for £19 million or £25 million) On 25 July, Chelsea announced the signing of Oscar on a five-year contract. On 19 August 2012, Oscar made his debut for Chelsea by coming on in the 64th minute for fellow debutant,
Eden Hazard in their opening game of the
2012–13 season against
Wigan Athletic. Oscar made his first start of the season on 19 September in Chelsea's first
Champions League match against
Juventus. After making the match 1–0 in favour of Chelsea with a deflected effort, he added a second, which curled over Juventus keeper
Gianluigi Buffon, to make it 2–0 at
Stamford Bridge. However the game ended in a 2–2 draw, but he was awarded
Man of the Match. He commented on his second goal, saying, "I am very happy with two goals on my debut but I would have been much happier if the team had won the game. In Brazil, young boys dream of playing in the Champions League and I'm very proud to have realised my dream." Three days later, Oscar then made his first
Premier League start in a 1–0 victory over
Stoke City. Following his good performances, Oscar became a regular starter in
Roberto Di Matteo's creative midfield triumvirate with
Juan Mata and
Eden Hazard. He scored his third goal of the season, in the Champions League, in Chelsea's 2–1 away defeat away to
Shakhtar Donetsk in
Donetsk, and continued his scoring record in Europe by scoring into an open net from 40 yards out in the reverse fixture against Shakhtar at
Stamford Bridge, a match which Chelsea won 3–2. Oscar also scored in Europe in ultimately Chelsea's last Champions League fixture, making the score 6–1 for Chelsea against debutants
Nordsjælland. After the sacking of manager Di Matteo on 21 November, interim manager
Rafael Benítez only started Oscar three times in his first seven games. Benítez praised Oscar's attitude after dropping him for the
FIFA Club World Cup Final against
Corinthians and believed there was no rift between himself and the player. He scored his first Premier League goal for the club on 23 December, scoring a penalty during an 8–0 win against
Aston Villa. On 14 February 2013, less than a minute after coming off the bench to replace Mata, Oscar exchanged passes with Hazard before finishing past
Tomáš Vaclík, breaking the deadlock and handing Chelsea a 1–0 away victory over
Sparta Praha in the first leg of their
Europa League Round of 32 clash. On 15 May, Oscar played the full ninety minutes as Chelsea defeated
Benfica 2–1 in the
Europa League final in Amsterdam, securing his first piece of silverware with the London club. The following day, his goal against Juventus in the Champions League was named the Chelsea "Goal of the Season". match against
Paris Saint-Germain on 8 April 2014 In the first match of the
2013–14 season on 18 August, Oscar scored Chelsea's opening goal in a 2–0 win over
Hull City. He opened the scoring against local rivals
Fulham in a 2–1 win on 21 September. On 1 January 2014 Oscar put in a match-winning performance against
Southampton at
St Mary's Stadium, scoring one and assisting two as Chelsea won the match 0–3. However, he was booked in that match for diving. Oscar scored fourth and fifth goals in Chelsea's 6–0 victory over
Arsenal on 23 March, which was
Arsène Wenger's 1000th match in charge of the club. Before the start of the
2014–15 season, Oscar's shirt number 11 was given back to the returning
Didier Drogba, and he instead took the number 8 vacated by
Frank Lampard earlier in the summer. He said "Didier is a Chelsea legend and a senior player. I am happy for him to take the 11 and for me to take the 8. Lamps is another legend at this club and I hope I will be as successful in the shirt as he was." His early season success was rewarded in November as he signed a new contract with the club keeping him with the Blues until the end of the 2018–19 season. Oscar scored twice in the first half of Chelsea's 5–0 away win at
Swansea City on 17 January 2015, exploiting a wayward pass by
Gylfi Sigurðsson to open the scoring after 50 seconds. On 26 April, he was hospitalised after suffering a head injury following a collision with opposing goalkeeper
David Ospina in a 0–0 away draw against Arsenal in the Premier League; he was released the following day. Oscar scored Chelsea's first goal of the
next season in an eventual 2–2 home draw with Swansea, being substituted early in the second half after the dismissal of goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois. On 16 September, he scored a penalty in a 4–0 win over
Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first game of the Champions League group stage. He,
Diego Costa and
Cesc Fàbregas were abused by supporters who believed that the trio's slump in form had cost the job of popular manager
José Mourinho; in the first game since his dismissal, on 26 December, Oscar slipped and missed a spot kick in a 2–2 home draw against
Watford. The following 31 January, Oscar scored a first-half hat-trick in a 5–1 win at
Milton Keynes Dons in the fourth round of the FA Cup. On 26 October 2016, Oscar made his 200th appearance for Chelsea in a 2–1
League Cup defeat to
West Ham United.
Shanghai Port On 23 December 2016,
Chinese Super League side
Shanghai Port officially confirmed that the club had agreed on terms with Chelsea for the transfer of Oscar, to be completed during the January
transfer window for a reported £60 million. The fee represented an Asian transfer record. Oscar was reported to have signed a four-year contract with a weekly salary of £400,000, equivalent to an annual salary of £20.8 million (US$26.5 million). The contract placed Oscar amongst the highest paid footballers in the world, annually during his 4-year tenure with the club. After signing for Shanghai SIPG, Oscar revealed that various European clubs were interested in signing him but decided to play in China as "China has incredible financial power and sometimes makes offers that players can't refuse." He subsequently mentioned that he was more concerned about his family, than of his own career. Oscar made his official debut on 7 February 2017 and scored the first goal of a 3–0 win over Thai club
Sukhothai in the
2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off. On 11 April 2017, Oscar missed two penalty kicks as his team lost 1–0 in an
AFC Champions League match against
Urawa Red Diamonds. He scored his first domestic league goal for SIPG with a penalty on 21 April 2017 in a 3–0 home win against
Hebei China Fortune. In a league match between Shanghai SIPG and
Guangzhou R&F on 18 June 2017, Oscar assisted
Hulk's equaliser in the 45+1 minute, however, afterwards as the opposition players complained to the referee that Hulk had been offside, Oscar twice purposely kicked the ball into Guangzhou players. In the ensuing brawl, both
Li Tixiang and
Fu Huan were sent off. Although Oscar himself was not booked for his role, he was later banned for 8 matches and fined 40,000
RMB for his role in starting the incident. In his second season, Oscar scored 12 goals as Shanghai won the league for the first time. He was appointed team captain following the departure of fellow Brazilian teammate
Hulk. In January 2022, Oscar was linked with a return to Europe and a move to
FC Barcelona. He missed the start to the
2022 season due to family matters. Oscar returned to China in June to take part in Shanghai's last three matches in the first phase of the CSL, then again returned to Brazil during the league break in July. He agreed personal terms for a loan deal with
Flamengo, but Shanghai Port shut down the deal. He once again returned to Shanghai in January 2023 to take part in the delayed
Chinese FA Cup. Oscar told Brazilian newspaper
Folha de S.Paulo in September 2024 that he would likely be leaving Shanghai at the end of the year. "I love Shanghai, but it's just too far away from home for us," he said. "We can't stay here forever. My mum is getting older, my sisters are having babies. We want to be closer to home." On 21 October 2024, he was involved in all three goals as Shanghai beat
Central Coast Mariners 3–2 in the
AFC Champions League Elite.
Square Mile reported that Oscar was the 6th highest-paid footballer in the world in 2024. Oscar played his final game for the club against
Gwangju in the AFC Champions League Elite on 3 December 2024.
Return to São Paulo On 25 December 2024, Oscar secured a return to
São Paulo, signing a 3-year contract. "I'm happy to be back in Brazil and to be able to play for Sao Paulo, which is the club where I started out, where I made my base and where I grew up," he said in a statement. "I thank you for the affection I have received on social media these past few days and I will do my best to achieve great things together."
Retirement On 12 December 2025, Oscar informed São Paulo that he had decided to end his football career due to health problem caused by fainting during a medical examination. The termination of his contract with the club, which was still valid until 31 December 2027, occurred amicably and the athlete officially announced his retirement on 4 April 2026. ==International career==