 On 15 May, during Guangzhou's last group stage match of the Champions League against Buriram United, Cléo earned a penalty in the 90th minute, which Darío Conca converted into the winning goal.Guangzhou beat Buriram United 2–1 and sealed a place in the knockout phase for the Chinese Super League side.On 30 May, Cléo scored the winning goal during the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League, as Guangzhou beat J1 League side FC Tokyo 1–0 and became the first Chinese club to reach the quarter-finals of the competition since 2006.