Early years and Paços Born in
Freamunde, Antunes joined
Primeira Liga club
Paços de Ferreira for the
2006–07 season for an undisclosed fee from
third division side
Freamunde, where he began his professional career. At Paços, he was instrumental in the team's first ever
qualification to the
UEFA Cup, also scoring in a 1–1 home draw against
Porto.
Roma After a season of excellent displays, Antunes was linked with moves to Porto,
Benfica,
Sporting CP,
Atlético Madrid,
Auxerre,
Aston Villa and
Anderlecht. On 29 August 2007, just two days before the close of the
transfer window, Italian club
Roma obtained the player on a loan deal for
€300,000, with the option to buy him permanently open until 15 April 2008. He signed a 1+3-year-contract for €195,000 in the first season – in gross, bonus excluded – gradually increased to €321,000 in the last year. He was chosen as
Player of the match in a poll conducted by the former's official website. On 20 January 2008, Antunes played his first
Serie A match, coming on as a 77th-minute
substitute in a 2–0 home win over
Catania. He also started against the same opponent in
the semi-finals of the
Coppa Italia in April, which ended with another victory at the
Stadio Olimpico (1–0), but was, however, virtually absent in the league, being barred by
Italian internationals
Marco Cassetti and
Max Tonetto and totalling only 65 minutes of action. On 2 April 2008, Roma exercised their right to full ownership, paying Paços de Ferreira the sum of €1.2 million whilst the player signed a five-year contract. He was immediately loaned to newly promoted
Lecce in a
season-long move, for €200,000. After appearing rarely for Lecce and not at all for Roma from August to December 2009, Antunes returned to Portugal the following month, being loaned to struggling
Leixões until the end of
the campaign, which ended in top-flight relegation. On 5 February 2010, the
FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled Freamunde eligible to receive €45,000 for
Solidarity Contribution. On 31 January 2011, Antunes was signed by
Livorno along with teammate
Marco D'Alessandro on loan, with Roma paying the player an incentive of €270,000 in order to compensate the wage difference between the two clubs.
Paços return and Málaga On 28 June 2012, after spending five months loaned to
Panionios in Greece, Antunes was released by Roma and signed a three-year contract with former side Paços de Ferreira, replacing Benfica-bound
Luisinho. Late into the following winter transfer window, however, he was loaned to
Málaga as a replacement for
Arsenal-bound
Nacho Monreal. He made his
La Liga debut on 9 February, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against
Levante, and participated in 15 official games during
the season, including four in
the Champions League. Antunes signed a four-year deal with Málaga on 11 June 2013, for a fee of €1.25 million.
Dynamo Kyiv in March 2015 On 2 February 2015, Antunes made a deadline day move to
Ukrainian Premier League club
Dynamo Kyiv for a reported fee of around €6 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut on the 19th, playing the full 90 minutes in a
1–2 away loss to
Guingamp for the Europa League where his new team played with nine men for 45 minutes, and scored his first goal on 15 March, helping to a 5–0 home victory over
Illichivets Mariupol. His second came four days later, as he struck a powerful shot from 30 yards in a 5–2 win against
Everton that qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League 6–4 on aggregate.
Getafe On 21 July 2017, Antunes was loaned to
Getafe for one year with a buyout clause. At the end of
the season, it was activated and the player signed a two-year contract. On 21 May 2019, Antunes was voted into the
La Liga Team of the Season. The previous month, however, he had suffered an
anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee which would sideline him for a lengthy period of time.
Return to Portugal After his Getafe contract expired, the 33-year-old Antunes returned to Portugal and signed for Sporting on 15 August 2020, ending seven years abroad. He made 13 total appearances in his
only season, winning his first league title and the
Taça da Liga. Antunes then released himself from his contract at the
Estádio José Alvalade and joined Paços de Ferreira on a two-year deal. ==International career==