Early career Manucho began his football career at Flaminguinhos, a small youth football club from Terra Nova, Luanda, where he lived. Under the guidance of his coach and father, Alberto Gonçalves, Manucho plied his trade as a left winger, becoming one of the club's top stars. Upon turning professional, Manucho signed for
Benfica de Luanda, a mid-table club in the Angolan league. He then moved to Luanda-based side
Petro Atlético, where he initially struggled to break into the team due to the presence of striker
Flávio Amado. After Flávio joined Egyptian side
Al Ahly, Manucho began to establish himself in the side, scoring 16 goals in 2006 and 15 in 2007.
Manchester United, loans at Panathinaikos and Hull City On 21 December 2007, it was announced that Manucho had agreed to sign for English
Premier League champions
Manchester United. He joined the club in January 2008 on a three-year contract. Prior to the announcement, Manucho had been on a three-week trial with the Manchester club, during which he managed to impress United manager
Alex Ferguson enough to earn himself a contract. Ferguson announced on 1 February that Manucho had indeed been loaned out to Panathinaikos until the end of the season. The loan period began soon after Angola's elimination from the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations by Egypt. Manucho scored on his league debut for Panathinaikos in a 2–0 home win over
AEL. Panathinaikos finished the
Super League Greece 2007–08 season in third place, qualifying the team for a play-off for the remaining European places. Manucho scored three goals in this six-game mini tournament, helping Panathinaikos to top the play-off group and qualify for the second qualifying round of the
2008–09 UEFA Champions League. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Manucho returned to United for pre-season training and the club's summer tour of
South Africa. However, he had picked up a suspected metatarsal injury and was unable to play a part in the pre-season programme. In August, the club confirmed that they had re-applied for a work permit for Manucho. On 28 August, the
Manchester Evening News reported that Manucho had received a work permit earlier that summer, which was confirmed on the official website. He was handed the number 26 shirt for the 2008–09 season, made his competitive first team debut as a substitute on 23 September in a League Cup Third Round tie at home to
Middlesbrough. The game ended 3–1 to United. Manucho made his league debut for United on 15 November, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for
Carlos Tevez in a home match against
Stoke City. Ten minutes after coming on, Manucho was involved in the build-up to United's fourth goal by
Danny Welbeck. On 18 December, Manucho scored his first goal in a United shirt, heading home
Magnus Wolff Eikrem's cross to earn United's reserve side a 1–1 draw against Everton in a Reserve League North match. Having found first team opportunities hard to come by at Manchester United, on 16 January 2009 Manucho agreed to join
Hull City on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season. On 4 March 2009, he scored his first
Premier League goal, a last-minute winner for Hull City in a 1–0 away victory at
Fulham.
Real Valladolid After his loan spell with Hull, Manucho was deemed surplus to requirements at Manchester United, and on 17 July 2009, the club agreed a deal with
Real Valladolid for the player's transfer. He signed a five-year contract with the Spanish club and was presented as a Real Valladolid player on 20 July 2009. After joining Valladolid, Manucho promised to score forty goals in a season for the club; he scored five in his first season. On 13 September 2009, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 defeat against
Valencia. Then he had to wait until 5 December 2009 for his next goal which earned them a vital point away to title challengers
Sevilla.
Bucaspor (loan) In summer 2010, Manucho signed with
Bucaspor on a loan deal from Real Valladolid. He made his debut on 23 August at 0–0 against
Kasımpaşa S.K. His next game on 28 August 2010, Manucho scored his first goal against
Gençlerbirliği. On 22 November 2010, Manucho scored and provided an assist for
Musa Aydın in a 5–2 loss against Turkish champion
Fenerbahçe. Despite the loss, Manucho was the hero when he scored a winning goal against Fenerbahçe in a 3–2 win to send the club through to the Turkiye Kupasi on 21 December 2010. This match turned out to be last appearance for Bucaspor. Later, the agreement at the club has been terminated unilaterally over the circuit between the payment of claims.
Manisaspor (loan) Manucho signed end of January 2011 with another Turkish team
Manisaspor until the end of the season. He made his debut for Manisaspor in 3–1 loss against Fenerbahçe on 5 February 2011. On the final season of the Turkey League on 14 May 2011, Manucho made his last appearance for the club when he provided assist for
Murat Erdoğan in a 4–2 win over his former team, Bucaspor, whom he had played for earlier in the season.
Rayo Vallecano On 13 June 2014, Manucho signed a one-year deal with Spanish team
Rayo Vallecano.
Cornellà On 18 September 2018, Manucho signed for Spanish
third division team
UE Cornellà. ==International career==