Born in Gama, a small city close to capital Brasília, Thiago was 13 years old when he lost his father, and supported his street-cleaner mother María Diva by working in construction as a bricklayer, odd-jobbing at fairs, and by handing out flyers.

[3] On 22 January 2020, Thiago made his professional debut as an 18-year-old when he started for Cruzeiro in their Campeonato Mineiro match against Boa Esporte.

[11] Having started in a 3-0 win over Aarhus in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers on 27 July 2023, Thiago scored in his first two league games for Club Brugge, a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw against Mechelen,[12] then netting the only goal in a 1-0 win at Westerlo to put the club near the top of the table early in the season.

Netting a double in a 5-0 away win over Beşiktaş in the Conference League sparked a major goalscoring run from the Brazilian striker,[16] going on to fire 18 goals in his next 12 games across December 2023 and January 2024.

[22] On 20 July 2024, Thiago suffered a meniscus injury on his Brentford debut in a pre-season friendly, and was subsequently expected to be out of action for the remainder of the year.