São Carlos Born in
Serrinha,
Bahia, Thiago Santana began his career with
São Carlos, making his senior debuts in 2011
Campeonato Paulista Série A3. In 2012, he moved to
Internacional, returning to youth football. On 13 February 2014, Thiago Santana joined
Caxias. On 15 January of the following year he signed for
Atlético Ibirama. Thiago Santana was the club's top scorer in the year's
Campeonato Catarinense (the second best overall), with ten goals. On 8 May 2015, he joined
Série A club
Figueirense. Thiago Santana made his debut in the main category of Brazilian football on 7 June 2015, starting and scoring the winner in a 2–1 home success over
Palmeiras. The following January he was loaned to
Náutico of the
Campeonato Pernambucano, and was released in June before the
Série B season due to a poor scoring rate.
Vitória Setúbal On 11 June 2016, Thiago Santana moved abroad for the first time when he signed for
Vitória de Setúbal in Portugal's
Primeira Liga. In 23 total games, he scored once to open a 2–0 win at
Benfica Castelo Branco in the fourth round of the
Taça de Portugal on 20 November.
Santa Clara In June 2017, Thiago Santana moved to
Santa Clara of the
LigaPro. He scored 15 times in 33 games in his first season in the
Azores as they won promotion as runners-up to
Nacional; this put him behind only
Ricardo Gomes and compatriot
Carlos Vinícius in the overall top scorers. He scored his first goal in Portugal's top flight on 19 August 2018, starting a comeback from 0–3 down at half time to draw at home to
Braga. On 1 April 2019, Thiago Santana signed a new three-year deal with Santa Clara. He scored six times in the upcoming season as they retained their place in the league, including two on 5 June 2020 in a 3–2 home win over Braga, played in
Oeiras near
Lisbon due to
COVID-19 complications. Thiago Santana scored in a 2–1 home loss to
Sporting CP on 24 October 2020. He therefore surpassed
Zé Manuel's record of 12 top-flight goals for Santa Clara.
Shimizu S-Pulse On 13 December 2020, Thiago Santana moved to
Shimizu S-Pulse of the Japanese
J1 League, for a fee of €1 million. In February 2021, he scored on his debut in a 1–3 league victory over
Kashima Antlers. He scored 14 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions in his debut season with the club. In his second season, Thiago Santana finished as the league's top scorer, with 14 league goals in 27 appearances. He was also inducted into the season's Best XI at the end of season awards. His performances were not enough to prevent Shimizu from being relegated to the second tier at the end of the 2022 season. Thiago Santana remained with Shimizu S-Pulse in the
J2 League and continued to be an important player, scoring 14 goals in the season and helping the club to a fourth-placed finish. He also scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 9–1 thrashing of
Iwaki FC.
Urawa Red Diamonds In January 2024, it was announced that Thiago Santana would be moving to J1 League club
Urawa Red Diamonds ahead of the 2024 season. He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 defeat to
Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He didn't score a goal in his 4 games for the club, but scored in his fifth appearance in a 2–1 win over
Avispa Fukuoka, also scoring in the next two games as well. In the match against Albirex he scored again
V-Varen Nagasaki On 4 January 2026, Thiago Santana was announcement official signing to J1 League promoted club,
V-Varen Nagasaki for 2026 season. ==Career statistics==