lucas made his debut in the spanish top flight on 5 september 1982, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 away loss against sevilla fc. he netted his first goal in the competition twenty days later in a 2–2 home draw with rcd español, but only added another until the end of the campaign and his team was eventually relegated back; during his tenure with celta, he experienced a further two promotions and relegations.