In 2001, Luciano Emílio made a return to Brazil to play for União Barbarense. After a brief stint at União Barbarense, Emílio made a move to the Honduran league to play for Real España in Honduras. He quickly established himself as a key player and won the league scoring titles in 2003 and 2004. He helped lead Real España to the Apertura Championship in 2003. In 2004, Emílio made a move to another Honduran team, Olimpia. Emílio won another scoring title in the Apertura in 2004 with Olimpia. Emílio enjoyed a brief stint in Mexico in 2005, signing the Mexican second division side Querétaro where he helped the team win the 2005 Clausura title, scoring 10 goals in the process. After playing for a short time with Querataro, Emílio made a return to CD Olimpia in 2005 in time to lead them to championships in the 2005 Apertura and the 2006 Clausura, during which he once again won the scoring title. In 2006, Emílio's eight goals in the UNCAF Tournament were enough to propel his team to the 2007CONCACAF Champions' cup. Ironically enough, Emílio would go on to play against CD Olimpia in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup with his new club, D.C. United.
He signed with D.C. United on 16 January 2007, as a Senior International player, after completing his second stint with Honduran club Olimpia. Emílio debuted for United in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup against Olimpia, scoring once in Tegucigalpa and twice in the return leg in Washington, DC in United's 7–3 aggregate win. He went on to score a fourth time in three games versus C.D. Guadalajara in the opening game of the CONCACAF semi-final. At the end of his first season with D.C. United, his team received the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield, the award for gaining the most points overall in a season. In the 2007 MLS season, Emílio had 20 goals and won the MLS Golden Boot award. Emílio won the 2007 MLS MVP award on 14 November 2007 and the inaugural MLS Newcomer of the Year Award on 17 November 2007. After recovering from a lean start to the 2008 season, Emílio scored his first career MLS hat-trick on 14 June against New York Red Bulls. Though not originally signed under the Designated Player Rule, he later received a pay rise which took him over the maximum salary covered by the league, becoming a designated player. Emílio received a green card in August 2009 for permanent residency in the United States and counted no longer against DC United's foreign player limit. Emílio rejected a new contract with D.C. United that would have seen him sign at a significantly lower salary. He later joined former club Rio Branco, but on April 28, 2010, Emilio signed a three-month contract to return to former club D.C. United. He was released by D.C. United at the end of this short-term contract.
