Background
Santos was born in São Paulo Paulo before moving to England when he was 12 years old.
Santos was born in São Paulo Paulo before moving to England when he was 12 years old.
Bristol Rovers
Santos began his career at Stoke City as a schoolboy before joining Bristol Rovers on a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2011. The next season, he made his professional debut whilst still considered a youth player on 20 November 2012, in a 4–0 defeat to Portuguese Vale in Football League Two, coming on as a substitute for Fabian Broghammer after 60 minutes. He signed his professional contract with the club on 23 April 2013.
Santos became a regular player in the Bristol Rovers first team in the 2013-2014 season, playing 27 matches, including 23 in the league, but his team were relegated to the Football Conference.
On 12 October 2013, he scored his only goal for Bristol Rovers, in a 1–1 league draw with Mansfield Town at Field Mill. He came on for Andy Bond after 72 minutes and scored the equaliser 12 minutes later.
Derby County
He signed a two-year contract with the option of a third year at Derby County on 1 July 2014 after turning down a new contract with Bristol Rovers. He had previously been in discussions with Premier League club Hull City.
Santos made his Derby debut on 26 August, replacing Johnny Russell for the last 20 minutes of a 1–0 League Cup victory over Charlton Athletic.
Having not made another appearance since his debut, on 9 January 2015 Santos went on a one-month loan to League One club N ottinghamshire County, and made a total of 3 appearances. Santos describes himself as "a very direct player who likes to run at the full-back and get crosses in and create chances for the team". He stated that he considers football in Brazil to be easier than that of England, due to the physicality of the English game.