[3] He made his La Liga debut on 15 November 1998 in a 2–2 home draw against Deportivo Alavés,[4] but faced serious competition from Armando Álvarez in his first season, appearing in just 14 league matches.

[6][7] On 30 September 2001, Manuel Pablo sustained an horrific tibia injury during the televised Galician derby against RC Celta de Vigo after an unlucky tackle by Everton Giovanella.

[11] On 6 October 2002 he was handed his league return by coach Javier Irureta, as a late substitute in the 0–2 home loss to Racing de Santander.

[12] In 2003–04's closing stages, Manuel Pablo proved he was fully recovered, as displayed in an excellent performance on 7 April 2004 in a 4–0 win over AC Milan in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League (5–4 aggregate victory).

[13] From the 2004–05 season onwards, he was the undisputed right-back at the Estadio Riazor (although he faced stiff competition from Álvaro Arbeloa in the 2006–07 campaign until the latter departed for Liverpool in January 2007).