Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, Carlos started his career as a striker, subsequently moving into goalkeeper upon replacing an injured teammate.
This prompted a January 2006 move to Romania's FC Steaua București, thus becoming the first Portuguese player to have played in the country's Liga I; shortly after his arrival, he lost the confidence of fans and general manager Mihai Stoica alike, with the latter declaring at a TV show that the player, although greatly underachieving, had been put under immense pressure due to the fact of being the team's only foreigner.
in January 2008, with the move being made permanent the following campaign – the Persian Gulf Pro League club was coached by compatriot Augusto Inácio.
After spending one year in Iran, Carlos moved back to Portugal in the summer of 2009, joining Rio Ave FC.
[9] Carlos was also the starter in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, participating in the first two games but missing the third due to yellow card accumulation,[10] as the Palancas Negras exited in the group stage.