Argentina defender Demichelis rejoins struggling Malaga

By Richard Martin

BARCELONA ( Reuters) - Argentina defender Martin Demichelis has joined former club Malaga for the remainder of the season as a free agent after terminating his contract with Espanyol, the La Liga club announced on Tuesday.

The centre back played 103 games in his first spell for Malaga after joining the club in January 2011 when they were managed by Manuel Pellegrini, who was his former coach at River Plate and who signed him for Manchester City in 2013.

The 36-year-old helped Malaga qualify for the Champions League for the only time in their history in 2012. They reached the quarter-finals of the competition in 2013.

The club he rejoins, however, are in a very different state to when he left.

Malaga have lost their last four games in all competitions and are without a league win since November. They are 13th in La Liga on 21 points, nine clear of the relegation zone, and last month were knocked out of the King's Cup by second-tier Cordoba.

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Toby Davis)