Nelson Oliveira was born on August 8, 1991 in Barcelos, ​​Portugal. His first club as Santa Maria before moving to the Braga academies in 2003. He stayed there for three years, until he was noticed by the people of Benfica, who made him a resident of Lisbon in 2006.

His unofficial debut for the Eagles’ first team came in 2009 under the guidance of Kike Flores, but he spent the next six months in the B team before being loaned out to Rio Ave in January 2010. Six months later he returned to Da Luz to… leave, again, this time for Pasos Ferreira. That’s where Oliveira’s first four professional goals came in a full season with 23 appearances.

He returned to Benfica and made his first appearance in October 2011, fighting for a place in the squad. In the summer of 2012, he followed the loan path again, as the many and expensive transfers made by his club left him no option.

Deportivo La Coruna offered him the opportunity to test his skills outside Portugal and Oliveira spent one season in the Primera Division, scoring four goals in 31 appearances. Loan spells continued into the 2013-14 season with Rennes being the next stop of his career. The Portuguese forward boosted his numbers in France, scoring eight times in 36 games, while also providing two assists.

In the summer of 2014 he took another opportunity at Benfica, and he won a plave in the squad, but his move proved to be short-lived, as in December he was on hte move again, this time to Swansea and then to Nottingham Forest, again on loan.

The 2015-16 season proved to be the peak of his career up to that point. He scored nine goals and produced one assist in 29 games, performances with which he made his name in the UK. Norwich reached an agreement with Benfica and signed him on a permanent transfer, spending around six million euros for his services.

Oliveira stayed at Norwich for three years, scoreing 20 goals in 70 appearances, while contributing five assists, stats which made him one of the most important players in his team. In the second half of the 2018-19 season, he was then loaned to Reading, where he scored three goals in 10 appearances.

In July 2019, AEK brought the Portuguese to Greece, signing him on a permanent transfer. At the Union, Oliveira was a regular starter, and he played there for two seasons. Overall, he scored 26 goals and contributed 10 assists in 70 games in all competitions for the Athens club.

Oliveira is also an international with Portugal. He played in all the various youth ranks of the national team setup, producing impressive numbers, and he made his debut with the senior side in February 2012. He played at Euro 2012, while so far in toal he has played 17 times, scoring two goals.

In the summer, Oliveira was released from AEK and accepted PAOK’s proposal to remain in Greece. In his first season in a black and white shirt he was exceptionally unlucky, since he suffered a serious knee injury in only his second competitive match for the club and only managed to make nine appearances, scoring once and providing one assist.