League home victory against Porto. His goal gave Málaga a 2–1 aggregate scores and sent the club directly into the quarter-finals of the competition, where they would face Borussia Dortmund and be eliminated. Santa Cruz had totaled eight league goals in 31 La Liga appearances as Málaga concluded in sixth position and qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off round, however, the club was banned by UEFA from participating due to violations of UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. Málaga 2013–14 season On 11 July 2013, it was confirmed that Santa Cruz would stay with Málaga on a permanent three-year contract. He was issued the number 9 shirt for the 2013–14 La Liga season following the departure of Javier Saviola. Santa Cruz affirmed that he was happy to be staying at the club and the factor of family stability came into his decision as he was able to leave his children enrolled in the same school. Santa Cruz first appearance of the season came in a 1–0 away defeat against Valencia on 17 August 2013. Two weeks later, Santa Cruz scored his first league goal in a 2–2 away draw against Sevilla on 1 September 2013. His first appearance in the 2013–14 Copa del Rey was in a 3–3 home draw against Osasuna on 8 December 2013. Santa Cruz scored his last goal of the 2013–14 La Liga season in a 2–0 home victory against Villarreal on 21 April 2014. He scored Málaga's first goal in the sixth minute of the match. Santa Cruz concluded the season with six league goals as Málaga avoided relegation by six points. 2014–15 season Santa Cruz made his 2014–15 La Liga season debut in a 1–0 home victory against Athletic Bilbao on 23 August, playing in the entire 90 minutes of the fixture. On 17 September 2014, it was announced that Santa Cruz would be one of Málaga's two team captains. On 4 October, Santa Cruz scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season in a 2–1 home victory against Granada. He scored a double in a 4–1 home victory against Deportivo de La Coruña on 18 December 2014 in the 2014–15 Copa del Rey. Santa Cruz played in his last match for Málaga on 21 December 2014 in a 2–1 away victory against Elche. The player was in the starting line-up and was substituted off of the field in the 51st minute for