Born in Simões Filho, Bahia, Danilo Barbosa joined Vasco da Gama's youth setup in 2011, after starting it out at Vitória.

[2] On 26 September 2013, before even making his debut as a senior, he was sold to Gestifute for a €4.5 million fee and was assigned to S.C. Braga, with the move only being effective in July 2014.

[3][4] Danilo Barbosa was promoted to the cruzmaltino's main squad in January 2014, and made his senior debut on 2 February, coming on as a late substitute for Edmílson in a 1–0 home win against Botafogo for the Campeonato Carioca championship.

[12][13] On 15 July 2015, Danilo Barbosa signed for La Liga side Valencia CF on loan, with an option to buy at the end of the season.

[19] For 2017–18 and after two seasons on loan, Danilo returned to Braga,[21] helping them finish fourth in the Primeira Liga, before signing with French club Nice on 10 June 2018.