City centre-back Martin Demichelis has announced
his retirement from professional football.
The 36-year-old re-joined Malaga for second spell
after being released by Espanyol in January and
has made 12 appearances in what will prove to be
his final season in LaLiga.
Demichelis won 51 caps for Argentina, scoring
twice, and announced his decision at a news
conference on Monday.
"I want to be honest, I lost the strength in my legs
and my concentration," he said. "But I want to give
thanks to football.
"I speak from my heart when I say I thank you all
for being here and showing me the appreciation –
Malaga have shown faith in me and have given me
the desire to play more up until this point.
"It was a dream to finish my career at Malaga, it is
a club that has always had a special place in my
heart and it is an honour to end my playing days
here.
"Now I look forward to being a Malaguista forever
and supporting the club from the stands.
A product of River Plate's youth system and a
cultured defender, Demichelis twice won the
Argentinian title before moving to Bayern Munich in
2003.
His time with the Bundesliga giants proved highly
decorated as Bayern claimed four domestic
doubles.
Despite initial injury problems in Germany he
shone, first in a defensive midfield and then at the
heart of defence, but had fallen down the pecking
order by the time his old River boss Manuel
Pellegrini brought him to Malaga in January 2011.
Pellegrini came calling once more when Demichelis
moved to City from Atletico Madrid in 2013 – he
never played a game for the capital club having
joined them on a free transfer from Malaga earlier
that close season.
Despite initially struggling to acclimatise to the
pace of English football in his advancing years,
Demichelis played a pivotal role in City's run to
claim the Premier League title in the 2013-14
season.
He also collected the League Cup in 2014 and 2016
during his time in England, before he returned to
Malaga via a fruitless stint comprising two
appearances at Espanyol.
Demichelis could now bring down the curtain on
his career when Real Madrid visit La Rosaleda this
weekend in pursuit of LaLiga title glory.
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