Delete
Martín Demichelis completes Malaga return

Martín Demichelis completes Malaga return

The veteran defender, 36, will return to the club to help ease a growing defensive crisis

Daryl Finch

Wednesday, 18 January 2017, 17:04

Compartir

Malaga's defensive crisis is about to be eased with the arrival of centre-back Martín Demichelis, who has rejoined the club on a free transfer some three and a half years after he left.

The 36-year-old was a free agent after having his contract with Espanyol terminated earlier this month after making just two league appearances. The Argentinian, who only joined the Catalans in the summer, left Malaga in the summer of 2013 to rejoin his former coach, Manuel Pellegrini, at Manchester City.

His time in the north-west of England was a mixed bag, with the pace of the Premier League at times proving too much. Despite this, his experience and versatility was invaluable as the Citizens went on to win the league title in the 2013/14 season.

However, when Pep Guardiola became manager this summer, his contract wasn't renewed and he moved on to Espanyol.

With Weligton giving up his space in the squad to Adalberto Peñaranda, injuries to Miguel Torres and Diego Llorente, and Bakary Koné on African Cup of Nations duty, Marcelo Romero went with the inexperienced pairing of Luis and Mikel Villanueva for Monday's defeat against Real Sociedad. Though Demichelis' signing is nothing more than a short-term fix, his return to the club will be welcome, especially given the scarcity of available talent in this transfer window.

The Argentinian was instrumental in the club's rise to the Champions League quarter finals in the 2012/13 campaign, making a total of 103 appearances between 2011 and 2013.

He passed his medical examination and his signing was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon. He was officially unveiled at La Rosaleda on Wednesday. He will wear the number '3' shirt vacated by Weligton.

Reporta un error en esta noticia

* Campos obligatorios