[2] Almost never a starter during his spell in the capital, Sánchez did appear in 36 La Liga games in 1996–97 (25 starts, five goals) as the Fabio Capello-led side won the national championship.
[7] He helped Depor to a third-place finish in 2002–03 with four goals in 30 games, adding a couple in the Champions League prior to the team's second group stage elimination.
[8] Sánchez enjoyed his best return in front of goal in 2003–04, scoring seven from 31 appearances, including a hat-trick on 3 January 2004 against neighbours Celta de Vigo (5–0 victory),[9][10] as Deportivo finished third behind Valencia and Barcelona; he failed to find the net, though, in a Champions League campaign which concluded with a semi-final loss to Porto.
He appeared sparingly throughout a sole season and, in October 2007, returned to Spain, penning a one-year deal with Segunda División club Elche; he had spent the previous weeks training on his own.
[18] On 22 December 2010, Sánchez was named Getafe's assistant manager, replacing former Real Madrid teammate Juan Esnáider as sidekick of Míchel – another player with whom he shared teams at the club.
[25] In early January 2020, with the side still in the second tier, the board of directors decided to suspend him indefinitely after a sex video featuring him leaked to the internet;[26] shortly after, he was fired.