Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Tiago Luís emerged through local Santos FC's youth ranks, and won the State League with the club in his last year as a junior.
He made his senior debut on 27 January 2008 in the same competition, against Clube Atlético Bragantino, scoring in that match.
[1] Also during that timeframe, media addressed an eventual interest in Luís from La Liga giants Real Madrid,[2] but nothing came of it.
During his only season with the top division side, he only started in five of the league games he appeared in, scoring only once in official matches (in a 1–1 home draw against C.D.
On 6 January 2011, Tiago Luís joined Série B side Associação Atlética Ponte Preta, on loan until the end of the season.