Antonio Puertas won the first title of his career in 2023, when Granada CF became champions of the Spanish second division in the 2022-23 season. His full name is Antonio José Rodríguez Díaz. He was born on 21 February 1992 in Benahadux, a town in the province of Almería, and is an attack-minded midfielder. He has spent almost his entire career in Andalusian football: seven seasons with Granada's first team, then a year at SD Eibar before he signed for Albacete Balompié in 2025.
He came through Los Molinos CF between 2009 and 2010 and spent the 2010-11 campaign in Villarreal CF's youth system. He made his senior debut in the 2011-12 season for Polideportivo Ejido in Segunda División B, the Spanish third tier, where he played ten matches and scored once. When the Ejido club folded in the middle of the season he was left without a team. On 31 January 2012 he signed for Granada, who placed him in their reserve side.
Granada's reserve team
He spent two and a half seasons with Granada B. Before the end of 2011-12 he played one regional league match for them and scored. In 2012-13 he scored 13 goals in 36 Tercera División games, and the reserves won promotion to the third tier. In 2013-14 he added ten goals in 23 matches at that level. His totals came to 60 appearances and 24 goals. In June 2014 he returned to his home province to join UD Almería B, also in the third tier, where he made 39 appearances and scored eight goals, play-off games included.
Professional debut at Almería
On 14 June 2015 he was promoted to the Almería first team, then in the Spanish second division. He made his debut on 9 September 2015 in the Copa del Rey against Elche CF. He came off the bench in the second half of a 3-3 draw that Almería won 4-3 on penalties. His league debut came on 11 October 2015, when he started a 1-1 draw away at Girona. He waited almost a year for his first professional goal, which came on 3 September 2016 in a 3-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano. He scored again the following weekend in a 3-3 draw at Girona. In 2016-17 he played 39 league games and scored eight goals. He left Almería with 53 appearances and eight goals.
On 16 June 2017 he returned to Granada on a three-year deal. His first season back, 2017-18, brought 19 league appearances without a goal. In 2018-19 he scored ten goals, the best tally of his career, and the club won promotion to La Liga. His top-flight debut came on 17 August 2019 at Villarreal, where he scored Granada's fourth goal in a 4-4 draw. He finished that 2019-20 season with 36 league appearances and seven goals. In 2020-21 Granada played in the Europa League for the first time and reached the quarter-finals; Puertas played 14 matches in that European run and scored once. On 8 April 2021 he started the first leg against Manchester United, who won 2-0 in Granada and by the same score at Old Trafford.
Second-division champions and farewell
Granada were relegated in 2022 and won the second division in 2022-23, giving Puertas his second promotion to La Liga with the club. During that campaign he scored in wins over Lugo (2-0) and Sporting Gijón (5-0). His role shrank in 2023-24, when he made six league starts and the team went down again. In April 2024 he reached 250 competitive appearances for Granada. He left after 252 matches and 33 goals in this second spell, including 131 La Liga appearances.
Eibar and Albacete
On 23 July 2024 he joined SD Eibar of the Spanish second division as a free agent. He stayed for one year and recorded 42 appearances, five goals and five assists. On 1 July 2025 he moved to Albacete Balompié, another second-division club. In the 2025-26 season he made 29 league appearances for them and scored eight goals.
AlbaceteForwardMarket value €280.0K