[1] In 2012 he was loaned to Bahia de Feira, and made his senior debut on 12 April of that year by coming on as a substitute in a 5–2 home loss against São Paulo, for the season's Copa do Brasil.

On 14 September 2016, Zé Roberto was loaned to Série A club Ponte Preta, with Renê Júnior moving in the opposite direction.

Zé Roberto subsequently served loan stints at Mirassol,[4] Criciúma[5] and Santos' B-team during the 2017 season.

On 6 January 2020, Zé Roberto agreed to a one-year loan deal with Atlético Goianiense in the top tier,[11] but moved abroad to Baniyas in the United Arab Emirates just 19 days later.

[12] He returned to Mirassol on 6 July,[13] and scored twice in his first game back at the club to knock out São Paulo of the quarterfinals of the 2020 Campeonato Paulista.