Born in Maceió, Alagoas, Maia joined Vitória's youth setup in 2003, aged ten, from CSA.
[1] He made his first team debut on 4 February 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 Campeonato Baiano home win against Feirense.
Maia's first goal came on 14 September 2011, in a 5–1 home routing of Duque de Caxias for the Série B championship.
[2] His loan was cut short on 11 September,[3] and he made his Série A debut with Vitória ten days later, in a 0–0 home draw against Grêmio.
On 28 November 2016, when Chapecoense were en route to the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals to play against Atlético Nacional, Maia was among the fatalities of the LaMia Airlines Flight 2933 accident in the Colombian village of Cerro Gordo, La Unión, Antioquia.