Paraguay international striker Roque Santa Cruz has completed his move to Spanish side Malaga on a free transfer from former Premier league champions Manchester City. The 31 year old former Bayern Munich man has signed a three year deal with the club that will see him play through to the 2016/17 season as the club looks to bolster their striking options as they prepare for another assault on the UEFA Champions League places.
The player was released by Manchester City in June following an unsuccessful four year spell at the club after signing him for a whopping £ 18 million from Blackburn Rovers. Santa Cruz was brought to Blackburn by former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes who paid £ 3.8 million for his services to Bayern Munich in 2007. When Hughes was announced as the new Manchester City manager, he decided to bring the player who had been very successful under him in Lancashire and signed Roque Santa Cruz for a whopping fee.
However, injuries and poor form hampered his time at City and he found himself on the fringes, playing just 20 times for the club before being farmed out on loan. His last appearance for the Citizens came in November 2010.
He spent a part of last season on loan at Malaga under the current Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini and scored eight goals for the club. It was his best return since his 23 goals in his first season in England when he was playing for Blackburn.
Roque Santa Cruz was visibly pleased after completing the signing with the Spanish club and admitted that he was pleased to have been able to put his Manchester City nightmare behind him and was looking forward to helping Malaga back into the UEFA Champions League places after losing out this year.