He spent most of his career in Portugal, playing 68 Primeira Liga games and scoring 23 goals for Gil Vicente, Braga and Porto, winning a league title with the last of those teams in 2020.

[4][5][6] In 2010–11, under new manager Paulo Alves,[7] Zé Luís netted ten times for the Barcelos side as they achieved promotion to the Primeira Liga after a five-year absence, as champions.

[9] Zé Luís served two loan spells during his tenure in Minho, spending three months with former club Gil[10] and one full season with Videoton FC in Hungary;[11] he also featured regularly for Braga B in the second tier.

In between, he played for the main squad in the 2013 Taça da Liga final, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over FC Porto at the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra.

[22] Zé Luís scored seven league goals in his only season at the Estádio do Dragão for the eventual champions, and ten overall as the team secured the double.

[27] He played nine games for the club and scored once on 14 April, in the first minute of the second half of a 3–0 home win over Sepahan S.C. in the AFC Champions League group stage.

[32] Zé Luís made his debut for Cape Verde on 24 May 2010, playing one minute in a friendly in Covilhã with Portugal, who were preparing for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.