After a string of midfield injuries to the main squad (Rubén Baraja, Edu and Manuel Fernandes) he was called up by coach Unai Emery, making his La Liga debut against FC Barcelona, playing 20 minutes in a 4–0 away loss on 6 December 2008; previous to that, he had already appeared in a Copa del Rey game against Club Portugalete, where he also scored.

[1] Míchel's first start occurred on 3 March 2009 in the 2–1 loss at CD Numancia, as he began to be regularly summoned to the league's squad of 18 each week.

[2] In early June 2010, deemed surplus to requirements by coach Emery – for instance, in the 2009–10 campaign he only collected 28 minutes in the league, all as a late substitute – Míchel was loaned for one season to Deportivo de La Coruña.

[4] At Hércules CF, where he spent the 2011–12 season, Míchel scored a career-best 13 goals, also being a key player as the team nearly returned to the top tier.

[12] He made his debut for his new team on 10 February of the following year, appearing in the second preliminary round of the AFC Champions League against Warriors FC.