 He helped with 13 La Liga matches in that season's victorious campaign, but was soon pushed to the sidelines by another youth product, Guti.After a stint with UD Las Palmas in the second division, Sandro dropped down to the third level in January 1998, and helped Málaga CF achieve a top flight promotion in just two seasons – he played 29 games in the latter, scoring once.In summer 1997, he had a trial at Newcastle United, but it did not lead to a contract.