Hulk declared he was seeking to leave the club in January. However, FIFA regulations ban players from playing for more than two clubs in a season, forcing him to stay in Russia at least until June 2013. Eventually, he revealed he made amends with the club's management and that things have been resolved. In a 3–1 loss against the Ukrainian side of Shakhtar Donetsk, he suffered a head injury after falling under a challenge and connecting his head with a Shakhtar defender's studs in the second half. He was then taken to a local Dubai hospital. Following Zenit's third-place finish in the Champions League group stage, the club entered into the Europa League. He scored a goal in each leg of Zenit's knockout phase match to eliminate English side Liverpool from the Europa League in the round of 32 by away goals, despite losing 3–1 in the second leg. On 4 May 2013, he scored his first hat-trick of his Zenit career and assisted a goal, in a 4–0 win over league strugglers Alania Vladikavkaz. On 16 February 2015, Hulk signed two-year contract extension with the club. On 17 May, his free kick in a 1–1 draw at FC Ufa gave Zenit the league title with two matches to spare. Hulk was due to be an assistant at the draw for 2018 World Cup qualification in Saint Petersburg, but withdrew due to commitments with Zenit, being replaced by Alexey Smertin. Hulk was named by UEFA as one of the top XI players of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage. Shanghai SIPG On 30 June 2016, Hulk joined Chinese club Shanghai SIPG from Zenit for a reported £45 million, an Asian football record. He would earn £320,000 per week, accumulating to £16.6 million per year. On 10 July, Hulk forced Ryan McGowan's own goal nine minutes into his debut in a 5–0 win over Henan Jianye. However, just 12 minutes later, he was stretchered off the pitch with a muscle injury. On 9 September, Hulk scored his first two goals for Shanghai SIPG against Beijing Guoan after a two-month injury lay-off. Hulk made a total of 145 appearances and scored a total of 77 goals across all competitions during his time in Shanghai. Atlético Mineiro On 29 January 2021, Hulk returned to Brazil and joined Atlético Mineiro on a two-year contract. He made his debut on 7 March, assisting the