Estádio do Morumbi
Cortez transfer to Série A club São Paulo was announced on 17 December 2011, with the contract being signed four days later. He played his first game for the "Tricolor" on 22 January 2012, in a 4–0 victory against Botafogo-SP at the Estádio do Morumbi, for the Campeonato Paulista championship. He scored his first goal for São Paulo on 23 May 2012, against Goiás, at the Estádio Serra Dourada, for the year's Copa do Brasil.