On 17 January 2012, Barcos joined Brazilian Série A club Palmeiras for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club on 11 February 2012, in a 3–0 victory against Ituano, in a Paulistão match. Barcos promised to achieve a total amount of 27 goals in his first season with Palmeiras, thus showing a countdown of how many are left to go on his football shoes. On 27 February 2012, football specialist Lédio Carmona compared Barcos to lobster, playing with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari who had said he wanted shrimp, meaning the quality of Palmeiras' signings for the new season. Barcos helped Palmeiras reach the 2012 Copa do Brasil finals by scoring four goals in eight cup games.