Braga Born in
Braga, Joca had two youth spells with local
S.C. Braga, the last one starting at the age of 15. He made his senior debut with
their reserves on 9 August 2014, coming on as a 76th-minute
substitute in a 1–0 away loss against
C.D. Tondela in the
Segunda Liga; he went to spend three full seasons with the side, always in that division. On 11 July 2017, after scoring a career-best 12 goals during
the campaign with Braga B, Joca was loaned to
Primeira Liga club Tondela. His first game in the competition occurred on 9 September, when he featured one minute in the 2–2 home draw with
F.C. Paços de Ferreira.
Rio Ave and Leixões On 27 July 2018, Joca signed a three-year contract at
Rio Ave F.C. also of the Portuguese top tier. In January 2020, not being part of manager
Carlos Carvalhal's plans, he was loaned to
Leixões S.C. until June. Joca joined Leixões on a permanent basis on 18 August 2020. In July 2021, however, he returned to the
Estádio dos Arcos on a one-year deal. Rio Ave won the second division in
2021–22, with Joca contributing three goals from 31 matches. He missed the vast majority of the
following season with a knee injury. Joca split the 2024–25 season abroad, starting it with
Wuhan Three Towns F.C. in the
Chinese Super League and finishing with
Gençlerbirliği S.K. in the Turkish
TFF 1. Lig. ==Career statistics==