Later, he finished as the top goalscorer of the tournament and assisted Vietnam in their win of the title; he went on to receive the best player award for his performances.

[3] A Vitória youth graduate, Rafaelson was accused of faking his age in April 2015,[4] a claim later dismissed by the club.

[6] Rafaelson made his professional debut on 5 September 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for Robert in a 2–1 home loss against Botafogo for the Série B championship.

On 30 June 2016, Rafaelson made his top tier debut, replacing Tiago Real in a 3–2 home win against Sport Recife.

[11] In the last matchday of the 2020 V.League 1, he scored the only goal for Nam Định in a 1–1 against Song Lam Nghe An, thus help the club avoid relegation.

He scored six goals for the team after the first 12 games of the season, before the league was cancelled due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam.

[14][15] In September 2021, Rafaelson moved to Topenland Bình Định as a free agent, signing a two-year contract.

[17] He later lead his team to the 2022 Vietnamese Cup final, scoring a hattrick in the semi-final game against Đông Á Thanh Hóa.

In November 2024, FIFA authorized Nguyễn Xuân Son to represent the Vietnam national team after five years of residency in the country.

In the second leg game at Việt Trì Stadium, Xuân Son netted another two goals, contributing significantly to Vietnam's 3–1 win.

[31][32] Xuân Son continued his scoring streak by adding two more goals in Vietnam's 2–1 win against Thailand in the first leg of the ASEAN Championship final.

During the second leg of the final at Rajamangala Stadium, he broke his fibula and tibia bone and was substituted off and sent to the hospital in the 32nd minute.

With 7 goals scored during the ASEAN Championship campaign, Xuân Son won the Top scorer and Best player award.