Santos turned professional with Toulon, before moving to England to join Tranmere Rovers in 1998 who were managed by former Liverpool striker John Aldridge. He made his debut for Rovers on 8 August 1998 in a 2–0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the First Division. He went on to make 54 appearances for Rovers, scoring twice between August 1998 and March 2000. After refusing to sign a new contract he was dropped by Aldridge, and as a result missed the 2000 Football League Cup Final, and left the club shortly afterwards.