Santander on 18 December, as they won 4–0. In terms of appearances, the 1993–94 season was his most successful at Atlético, as he made 39 appearances and scored 4 goals in all competitions to help the club to a slightly disappointing 12th overall. The following season Pirri played 26 games, and took a good haul of 7 goals in all competitions. It was a disappointing season for Los Rojiblancos however, as they could only managed 14th in the league. However, the arrival of Radomir Antić as managed ahead of the 1995–96 season would revolutionise their fortunes. Pirri played 19 league games, and scored the only goal in a 1–1 draw at home to Real Betis on 13 April, as Atlético were crowned La Liga champions for the first time since 1976–77. He also contributed to their successful Copa del Rey campaign, including scoring the opening goal in the away leg of the third round tie against Mérida at the Estadio Romano. Atleti eventually won the scintillating tie 8–5 on aggregate. He played in the home leg of the semi-final against Valencia, but did not feature in the final, where Atleti beat Barcelona to win the trophy. Despite this highly successful season, Pirri left Atlético in the summer transfer window to join La Liga rivals SD Compostela. He made his debut on 6 September 1996 as Compostela hosted his old club, Atlético, at the Estadio Vero Boquete de San Lázaro. He was able to help his new club pull of a shock 3–1 victory against the defending champions. He ultimately played 15 times without scoring as Compostela finished 11th, and departed at the end of the season to join Mérida. His debut for newly-promoted Mérida came in their first La Liga game of the season, away at another of Pirri's former clubs, Real Oviedo. His new team lost 2–0. He made his home debut in the following match, which was against yet another of his former clubs, SD Compostela. In an exciting 3–3 draw, Pirri scored his first goal for Mérida. This would prove to be his only goal for the club, as his 20 appearances could not save them from being relegated in 19th place. He remained with Mérida the following year, but made no appearances before joining English second-tier club Barnsley on loan in December 1998. He made his Barnsley debut on 9 April 1999 in a Football League