In the 2014 season, Joel played an important role in Londrina's Paranaense winning campaign, and also scored regularly for the side in Série D. On 31 July 2014 he scored a brace in a 2–1 home success against Santos, for the campaign's Copa do Brasil.
On 4 September 2014 Joel was loaned to Coritiba for the remainder of the season, being subsequently negotiated with a German unnamed team. He made his Série A debut three days later, again from the bench in a 0–0 away draw against Bahia.
On 16 December 2014 Joel moved to fellow league team Cruzeiro, for a R$2.5 million fee. He made his debut for the club on 1 February of the following year, scoring the winner in an away success over Democrata-GV.