Hulk

Club career

Early career

Born in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Hulk started playing professionally with Esporte Clube Vitória in Salvador, Bahia, where he signed his first professional contract with the club at age 16. While progressing through the Esporte Clube Vitória's youth system, Hulk played in a left winger, midfielder, forward and fullback. Hulk then went on loan to Japan to play for Kawasaki Frontale after catching the eye of a representative from Kawasaki Frontale. Despite having been purchased on 15 January 2006, Hulk was loaned to second division Consadole Sapporo, effective on 1 February, where he played all the 2006 season and scored 25 goals, one less than the top scorer.

In 2007, he was loaned again to a second division team, Tokyo Verdy, where he was even more effective, scoring 37 goals in 42 matches and being the top goal scorer of the season. He briefly returned to Kawasaki in 2008 and rejoined Verdy after only 18 matches.

Porto

After Hulk's stay in Japan, he moved to Portugal to join defending champions Porto, who purchased 50% of his playing rights for €5.5 million from Uruguayan side Rentistas, with the transfer fee being received by an unnamed investor.

When Moroccan teammate Tarik Sektioui suffered an injury, Hulk was given an opportunity to play forward and scored his first official domestic league goal for Porto in a 2–0 home win against C.F. Os Belenenses, later adding against F.C. Paços de Ferreira (same venue and result), both as a second-half substitute. As the season advanced, he became an undisputed starter, forming an attacking trio with Cristian Rodríguez and Lisandro López, with the trio often shifting positions. After some stellar performances in the season's UEFA Champions League, he was elected as one of the Top 10 Rising Stars by UEFA.com. In late August 2009, he extended his contract to June 2014, with a buy-out clause increased to €100 million.

In the 2009–10 season, Hulk established as an automatic first-choice. However, following a tunnel brawl during the league loss against S.L. Benfica (1–0) on 20 December 2009, he received a four-month ban (if the disciplinary hearing upheld the ban, he faced up to three years on the sidelines), only for the domestic competitions, as did his teammate Cristian Săpunaru. The ban was later reduced to four matches, and the player returned to league action on 28 March 2010 after missing 3 months and 18 matches, scoring in a 3–0 win at Belenenses. One week later, he also scored in a 4–1 home victory over C.S. Marítimo. With six less matches played than the previous season, he ended with five league goals.

Hulk started the 2010–11 season scoring 16 times in his first 16 official matches, including a hat-trick against K.R.C. Genk in the UEFA Europa League play-off stage, on 26 August 2010 (4–2 home win, 7–2 on aggregate). From September to January, he won the Portuguese Championship Player of the Month, making him the only player to have won the award six times. On 7 November 2010, he scored the last two goals as Porto trounced Benfica 5–0 at home, creating a ten-point difference between the two teams, with the northerners leading the league, and eventually winning it, with the player leading the goalscoring charts.

On 13 May 2011, Porto paid €13.5 million to Rentistas for another 40% of Hulk's playing rights, bringing their total stake to 85% (Porto sold back 5% after renewing his contract in 2009), with the player signing a new contract valid until 2016 and with a buy-out clause of €100 million. He finished the season with 36 goals in 53 official matches, with his team winning four major titles, including a league/cup double.

Zenit

On 3 September 2012, Hulk completed a transfer of €60 million, with Porto receiving €40 million, to Russian Premier League club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, reuniting with former Porto teammate Bruno Alves. This transfer fee caused a lot of debate and a great stir since Mitrofanov, General director from Zenit denied publicly. Russian media R-Sport even claimed that Mitrofanov had shown the media the sales contract and the fee on the contract was €40 million and not €60 million. However, Porto also confirmed in its unaudited quarterly report in Q1 2012–13 that the club did not pay for third parties ownership (15%), agent fee nor solidarity contribution (5%), which all normally included in the transfer fee, as in the case of Radamel Falcao.

Hulk scored his first goal for his new club in only his second league match, against FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, finding the net with a trademark shot from outside the box in a 2–2 away draw.

In the second half of September, media speculation reported that teammates Igor Denisov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov were unsatisfied with Hulk's wage, and that they demanded renegotiation of their contracts. As a result, they were sent to the youth squad. Denisov replied in an interview with Sport Express stating that his stand-off with club management was over "the proper organisation of the team. And respect for the Russian players which Zenit has always relied upon". A few days after the feud, he scored and assisted in a 2–1 win against FC Baltika Kaliningrad for the fifth round of the Russian Cup. A few weeks later, he scored his first Champions League goal for Zenit and provided an assist in a 3–2 loss against A.C. Milan in the second matchday of group stage.

After falling out with head coach Luciano Spalletti, Hulk declared he was seeking to leave the club in January. However, FIFA regulations ban players from playing for more than two clubs in a season, forcing him to stay in Russia at least until June 2013. Eventually, he revealed he made amends with the club's management and that things have been resolved. In a 3–1 loss against the Ukrainian side of Shakhtar Donetsk, he suffered a head injury after falling under a challenge and connecting his head with a Shakhtar defender's studs in the second half. He was then taken to a local Dubai hospital. Following Zenit's third-place finish in the Champions League group stage, the club entered into the Europa League. He scored a goal in each leg of Zenit's knockout phase match to eliminate English side Liverpool from the Europa League in the round of 32 by away goals, despite losing 3–1 in the second leg. On 4 May 2013, he scored his first hat-trick of his Zenit career and assisted a goal, in a 4–0 win over league strugglers Alania Vladikavkaz.

Shanghai SIPG

On 30 June 2016, Hulk joined Chinese club Shanghai SIPG from Zenit for a reported £45 million, an Asian football record. He would earn £320,000 per week, accumulating to £16.6 million per year. On 10 July, Hulk forced Ryan McGowan's own goal nine minutes into his debut in a 5–0 win over Henan Jianye. However, just 12 minutes later, he was stretchered off the pitch with a muscle injury. On 9 September, Hulk scored his first two goals for Shanghai SIPG against Beijing Guoan after a two-month injury lay-off.

Hulk made a total of 145 appearances and scored a total of 77 goals across all competitions during his time in Shanghai.

Atlético Mineiro

On 29 January 2021, Hulk returned to Brazil and joined Atlético Mineiro on a two-year contract. He made his debut on 7 March, assisting the fourth goal for Diego Tardelli in a 4–0 Campeonato Mineiro win over Uberlândia. On 19 March, he scored his first goal for the club, from a penalty kick, in a 3–0 win over Coimbra.

After a tough spell in April, with six games without scoring and being relegated to the bench, Hulk picked up his form in the Copa Libertadores against América de Cali and Cerro Porteño, scoring a brace in each game. On 22 May, Atlético were crowned the Campeonato Mineiro champions, and Hulk was voted by journalists into the team of the tournament.

On 17 July, Hulk scored both goals in a 2–1 turnaround win over Corinthians, in the Série A. In the next round, he again scored twice in a 3–0 win over Bahia. On 21 November, he became top scorer of the league after yet another brace in a 2–0 win over Juventude. On 2 December, when Atlético played for the league title and was 2–0 down against Bahia at the Fonte Nova arena, Hulk kick-started a comeback by scoring from a penalty; five minutes later, a brace from Keno snatched the three points that secured the 2021 Série A trophy to Galo. In the following match, a 4–3 win over Red Bull Bragantino at the Mineirão, Hulk scored his 19th goal in 35 appearances, ending the league season as top scorer.

Hulk appeared in all ten matches of Atlético's Copa do Brasil-winning campaign, scoring once in eight of them, including both legs of the final against Athletico Paranaense. He became only the second player to be top scorer in both the Série A and Copa do Brasil in a same season, repeating Gabriel Barbosa's feat in 2018.

Hulk was the country's top scorer in 2021, with a total of 36 goals in 68 appearances, while also providing 13 assists. His central role in Atlético's domestic treble-winning season earned him the Bola de Ouro, Craque do Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil Golden Ball awards. He was also included in CONMEBOL's Libertadores Team of the Tournament and El País' South American Team of the Year.

In the 2022 Supercopa do Brasil against Flamengo on 20 February 2022, Hulk scored a second-half equalizer to tie the match at 2–2 and then converted two penalties in an eventual 8–7 shootout victory. At the end of the match, he received the award for best player of the competition. On 16 March, Hulk renewed his contract until the end of 2024, with the option to extend until 2025. The following week, on 23 March, he scored both goals in the 2–0 victory over Caldense in the first leg of the 2022 Campeonato Mineiro semifinals, becoming the top scorer at the Mineirão with 32 goals, overtaking Giorgian de Arrascaeta. In the final on 2 April, Hulk scored twice in a 3–1 win over Cruzeiro, thus lifting his fourth trophy for Atlético in a four-month period. He finished the tournament as its top scorer, with ten goals in eight appearances.

Fluminense

On 5 May 2026, Hulk joined Fluminense on a free transfer and a contract running until December 2027.

International career

Hulk made his debut for Brazil on 14 November 2009 in a friendly match against England in Doha, as the Seleção managed a 1–0 victory. On 26 May 2012, he scored his first three international goals in a 3–1 win against Denmark at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg.

On 9 June 2012, in a friendly with Argentina, Hulk scored in a 3–4 loss. In July, he was named as one of three overaged players for Mano Menezes' Brazilian squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and he appeared in all but one of the matches during the tournament, netting in the 1–2 final loss against Mexico.

In June 2013, Hulk represented Brazil at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. He played in every match as the team's starting right-winger, including the final, where Brazil defeated world champions Spain to win its fourth Confederations Cup title.

At the 2014 World Cup, in the round of 16 match against Chile in Belo Horizonte, Hulk had a goal disallowed for a handball. In the shootout, he had his penalty saved by Claudio Bravo, although Brazil nonetheless advanced.

Hulk was called up for the Copa América Centenario in 2016, making one appearance as a substitute in Brazil's group stage campaign.

In August 2021, Hulk received his first call up to the national team in five years for 2022 World Cup qualifiers; he appeared as a substitute in a 2–0 win over Peru on 9 September.

Style of play

A predominantly left-footed forward who could operate either centrally or from wide areas, Hulk combined a powerful physique with pace, ball-carrying ability and direct running. During his early career at Porto, The Guardian described him as fast and brave, with "a hammer of a left foot", while David Pleat noted his ability to shield the ball, turn towards defenders and move inside onto his stronger left foot. FIFA later highlighted his powerful shooting, pace and technical ability, describing him as a centre-forward or winger who could be difficult for defenders to stop. His long-range shooting and set-piece power became among his most recognisable attributes; UEFA noted a 35-metre free kick for Porto against Shakhtar Donetsk in 2011 as a powerful, swerving effort, and in 2023 ge reported that one of his free-kick goals for Atlético Mineiro was measured at 119 km/h.

Personal life

Born and raised in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Hulk was the fourth of seven children and the fourth son born to his parents. He began to play football at three years old, thanks to his father.

Hulk was previously married to Iran Angelo de Souza, whom he met in Japan. The pair married in 2007 before separating in July 2019. They have two sons, Ian and Tiago, and a daughter, Alice. After splitting from Iran, Hulk began dating her niece, Camila Angelo in October 2019.

It was reported in March 2020 that Hulk had married Camila, in part due to her needing a visa to stay in China with Hulk. In April 2022 Camila gave birth to their first baby together, daughter Zaya. This means that she is Hulk's fourth child.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 September 2026

International

As of 4 July 2021

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hulk goal.

Goals in the Summer Olympics

Honours

Porto

Primeira Liga: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13

Taça de Portugal: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Europa League: 2010–11

UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2011

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Russian Premier League: 2014–15

Russian Cup: 2015–16

Russian Super Cup: 2015

Shanghai SIPG

Chinese Super League: 2018

Chinese FA Super Cup: 2019

Chinese FA Cup runner-up: 2017

Atlético Mineiro

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2021

Copa do Brasil: 2021; runner-up: 2024

Campeonato Mineiro: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025; runner-up: 2026

Supercopa do Brasil: 2022

Copa Libertadores runner-up: 2024

Copa Sudamericana runner-up: 2025

Brazil Olympic

Summer Olympics silver medal: 2012