[4] Born in Porto Alegre, he began his career at hometown club Internacional before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007 for €3 million.

He became an integral member of the Ukrainian club, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer for Shakhtar in October 2014 and receiving his first call-up to the Brazil national team the same month.

[7][8] On 19 March 2007, he made his debut in the Ukrainian Premier League against city rivals Metalurh Donetsk, at the age of 19 years 11 months and 7 days.

[9] It took almost one year, however, for Luiz Adriano to score his first goal for the club, netting in the 94th minute of a 4–1 win over Metalist Kharkiv on 15 March 2008.

[15] On 20 November 2012, playing against Danish team Nordsjælland in the Champions League, Luiz Adriano scored a controversial 1–1 equalizer.

[18] Luiz Adriano made his season debut against Chornomorets Odesa in the Ukrainian Super Cup as Shakhtar won 3–1, but the striker failed to get on the scoresheet.

[19] He opened his account for the season in Shakhtar's first Ukrainian Premier League fixture, scoring his side's second in the final minute of normal time in a 2–0 victory over Hoverla Uzhhorod on 14 July 2013.

[25] In the final league match of the season on 18 May, Luiz Adriano scored both goals as Shakhtar defeated Volyn Lutsk 2–0 to finish as the leading goal-scorer with 20 strikes.

[27] On 17 October, Luiz Adriano scored in either half and provided an assist for Alex Teixeira as Shakhtar defeated Volyn Lutsk 6–2.

[9] In Shakhtar's next Champions League match, hosting BATE on 5 November, Luiz Adriano scored another hat-trick, starting with a 58th-minute penalty, as his team won 5–0.

In the six games played, Luiz Adriano equalled Messi's record of five goals in a Champions League match and equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring nine goals in the group stage, prompting UEFA to name him the best player of the season's Champions League group stage phase.

In January 2016, Milan agreed an offer from Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning to sell Luiz Adriano for a reported fee of €14 million.

[47][48][49] On 23 October 2014, Luiz Adriano was called up to the Brazil national team for the first time for friendlies against Turkey and Austria in November.

A quick player who can score with both feet, he is also capable of using his physique to hold up the ball with his back to goal in order to bring his teammates into play.