After helping Castilla CF to the Segunda División title in 1984, he was instrumental in the capital club's conquests, which included six leagues and two consecutive UEFA Cups; he opened the score in the 1985 final of the latter competition, against Videoton FC.

[2] Míchel's career was not without incident: in 1988, he was hit by a bottle while on the pitch and, three years later, he was sanctioned by UEFA for using an unorthodox method of disrupting the concentration of Carlos Valderrama, in a game against Real Valladolid.

The presiding judge in the case noted that "manipulating in public that of your neighbour which is a gift given exclusively to males by nature" violated a federation rule protecting a player's dignity.

[6][7] Míchel made his debut for the Spain national team on 20 November 1985 against Austria,[8] going on to appear in a further 65 internationals and score 21 goals (only missed a callup due to injury).

[9] He played in the 1986[10] and the 1990 FIFA World Cups, netting a hat-trick against South Korea in Spain's second fixture during the latter tournament (3–1, famously shouting "I've earned this" after his last goal)[11][12] and also a penalty against Belgium in the country's final group match.

[15] The following year he returned to his alma mater as director of Real Madrid's sports city, the entire youth system, and manager duties at Real Madrid Castilla,[16] where he coached one of his sons, Adrián; under his management the side dropped down a level into Segunda División B and he was sacked, also leaving his post in the youth sides due to disagreements with president Ramón Calderón.

He replaced former FC Barcelona midfielder Víctor Muñoz,[18] and also managed Adrián, helping the club avoid relegation in the last matchday and renewing his contract for two more years the following week.

despite being 2–0 up 20 minutes from time; he had allegedly lost the confidence of the board of directors and supporters due to his difficulties in handling the pressure of mounting a title challenge.