his good run of form in the last two months of the season helped his team win the league title, and also helped him rejoin the national side. On 12 March 2015, Demichelis renewed his expiring contract until June of the following year. A year later, he was charged by The Football Association for 12 breaches of their rules against gambling on matches, and accepted the charge; he was fined £22,058 for the breach. On 10 June 2016, Demichelis was released. Return to Spain On 10 August 2016, at nearly 36, Demichelis signed a one-year contract RCD Espanyol in Spain's top flight. On 10 January 2017, however, after only two appearances, he was released. A week after his exit from Espanyol, Demichelis returned to Málaga's La Rosaleda Stadium, on a five-month deal. On 15 May 2017, he announced his retirement. International career Demichelis was first called up for Argentina in 2005 to compete at the year's FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, where he was unused by the runners-up. He made his debut under José Pekerman on 12 November 2005 that year, in a 3–2 friendly loss to England at the Stade de Genève in Switzerland, playing as a defensive midfielder; he was not chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. On 11 September 2007, Demichelis scored his first international goal, heading the only goal of a friendly against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He suffered a facial injury during an exhibition game with Germany on 3 March 2010, being sidelined for three weeks, and later being selected for the year's World Cup in South Africa. Under Diego Maradona, he played in all of Argentina's games at the tournament, partnering Nicolás Burdisso in central defence in an eventual quarter-final exit; on 22 June, he scored the first goal in the 2–0 group stage win against Greece. Demichelis lost his place in the national side in November 2011, after a World Cup qualifier against Bolivia. A two-and-a-half-year absence followed, until he was included in Alejandro Sabella's provisional 30-man squad for the 2014 World Cup. He ended up making the final list. On the bench for the team's first four games, Demichelis made his debut in the tournament in the 1–0 quarter-final win over Belgium in which he played the full 90 minutes, taking the place of Federico Fernandez. He went on to start in the semi-finals where his team eliminated the