After starting out professionally with Vitória and then playing three years in Japan, he went on to play several seasons in Portugal with Porto, winning ten titles – including the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League and three national championships – and being crowned the league's top scorer once. In 2012, he joined Russian Premier League side Zenit Saint Petersburg for €60 million, winning all three domestic honours and being named the competition's best player and being top scorer, once each. He was transferred to Shanghai SIPG for an Asian record €58.6 million in 2016.