He spent most of his career with Porto, appearing in 183 games and winning 11 honours, including three Primeira Liga titles and the UEFA Europa League in 2011. Previously of Nacional, he totalled 144 games in Portugal's top flight. He additionally played for two years at São Paulo, and won the Süper Lig with Turkey's Galatasaray in 2018.
In 2008, Maicon moved on loan to modest Cabofriense.[3] Upon returning, he was a part of Cruzeiro's reserves that went on a trip to Portugal and played three friendlies in the country.[4]
On 4 June 2009, Maicon moved to Primeira Liga champions Porto in a contract running until 2014.[7][8][9] He appeared in only four games in his first year, starting with a 2–1 home victory over Rio Ave on 29 November;[10] on 24 April 2010 he scored a first goal in a 5–2 away defeat of Vitória de Setúbal.[11]
On 2 March 2012, after a free kick, Maicon headed a late goal in a 3–2 away win over Benfica.[13] He scored five goals from 35 appearances over two seasons, helping his team to back-to-back national championships; in October he was awarded the Dragão de Ouro as the club's Player of the Year.[14]
On 14 February 2016, having been deemed surplus to requirements by new manager José Peseiro, Maicon was loaned to São Paulo;[17] upon arriving, he stated that the move was "a dream come true".[18] He made his debut in the Campeonato Paulista on 1 March in a 2–0 home win against Mogi Mirim.[19] On 2 April, he missed a penalty before scoring the last-minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Oeste at the Estádio do Morumbi.[20]
Maicon signed a permanent deal for R$22 million on 28 June 2016, as Porto also ceded 50% of the sporting rights to fellow defenders Inácio and Lucão.[21]
In July 2017, Maicon returned to European football, signing a four-year deal for Galatasaray for a fee of €7 million.[22] He scored a career-best five goals – all in the first half of the campaign – as the team from Istanbul won the Süper Lig in his first season, including two on 30 September in a 3–2 home win against Kardemir Karabükspor.[23]
On 5 February 2019, Al Nassr paid €1.7 million to gain Maicon on loan for 18 months.[24] The Saudi Professional League club paid a further €1.4 million to sign him permanently in August 2020.[25] In the 2019 Saudi Super Cup on 4 January 2020, he scored the decisive attempt in the side's shootout defeat of Al Taawoun (1–1 after 120 minutes).[26]
Maicon joined permanently in 2020, but terminated his contract on 19 June 2021.[27]
On 25 November 2021, Maicon returned to his first club Cruzeiro after agreeing to a three-year deal.[28] However, a directorial change caused him to terminate his link after just three matches.[29]
On 8 March 2022, just hours after leaving Cruzeiro, Maicon signed a two-year contract with Santos.[30] He made his debut on 5 April, starting in a 1–0 Copa Sudamericana away loss against Banfield.[31]
A regular starter during the 2022 season, Maicon subsequently lost that status to new signings Joaquim Henrique and Messias.[32][33] On 20 June 2023, he left after rescinding his contract.[34]
Maicon hailed from a family of footballers: his father Maurides played amateur football, while his younger brothers Muller and Maurides were professionals, the former as a forward and the latter also as a stopper.[37] Maicon faced Maurides twice in the 2015–16 season, when his sibling was a member of Arouca.[38]
In Brazil, Maicon was given the nickname God of Zaga, due to his play and resemblance to Kratos from the videogame series God of War.[39][40]
^"Maicon de saída: São Paulo é o destino" [Maicon leaving: São Paulo the destination]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 14 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
^Musetti Perazolli, Lucas; Brino, Gabriela (23 September 2022). "Santos: 'Pai' de todos, Maicon viu liderança surgir na roça aos sete anos" [Santos: 'Father' of everyone, Maicon saw his leadership arise in the countryside at the age of seven] (in Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 25 September 2022.