The 26-year-old midfielder has signed a contract running until 2016 with Sporting, which will also include a minimum fee release clause of €40 million.
Elias moves after just half a season with Atletico, having joined in the last January transfer window. He was recently told he could leave after the club could not find space for him in their ‘non-EU’ players quota.
He has four caps for the Brazilian national team, and was part of the Seleção squad at the 2011 Copa America, although he did not see any playing time.
