Born in Rio Verde, Goiás, Carvalho was a youth product of Vila Nova, but made his senior debut while on loan at Jataiense in 2006.
A regular starter in the 2009 season, Carvalho subsequently lost his starting spot and moved to América-SP for the 2011 campaign.
On 1 November of that year, after being a regular starter for Boa Esporte, he joined Série A side Cruzeiro.
[1] Carvalho made his top tier debut on 29 July 2012, starting in a 2–1 home win over Palmeiras.
In September of that year, he became the club's head coach, and led them to a first-ever promotion to the Série C in 2021, as champions.