Pepe Announces Retirement After 23 Years Of Football

Pepe, a Portuguese Professional footballer has announced his retirement from the beloved sport. He has played for 23 years and was recently crowned “Oldest European Championship Footballer.

A Former Real Madrid Star Retires From Football

A former defender for the Spanish club, Real Madrid has had a wonderful career in football. He has played for both club and country. Pepe played his last football game against France where Portugal was defeated on penalties in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024. This is where he earned the title of becoming the oldest player to participate in the European championship tournament.

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He circulated this message of retirement in a video published on a social media platform where he was emotional and stated:

I want to thank God for giving me the wisdom to continue my journey. I can’t help but also thank all the presidents who bet and believed in me to be able to perform my work. To all the employees of all the clubs I’ve been to, who are the soul and essence of the clubs and the national team. And I want to thank everyone in the background. I want to leave a thank you and a hug of gratitude for all of you. And thank you all very much.

Pepe Stats For Club And Country

The Portuguese defender has made 141 appearances for his country. His appearances are ranked third highest as Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Moutinho have more appearances for their country. He has 334 appearances for the Real Madrid club, 288 for Porto FC, 63 appearances for CS Marítimo, and 52 appearances for Besiktas JK.

He has scored 42 goals during his club career in football. The most famous thing about the Portuguese defender was his discipline. Pepe was considered a fierce footballer, and he was usually involved in harsh fouls, dirty tackles and fights with other players. He also received a lot of red cards during his career and one of his famous battles was with Lionel Messi during the El- El-Classico match. As a footballer, his performance was unmatched, and he was part of the prime Real Madrid team alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portuguese footballer started his journey early, but he became famous with his performance for Porto FC. Real Madrid saw his performance and offered him a place at their club. He joined the club in 2007 and then went back to play for FC Porto in 2019. Pepe also won four Primeira Liga titles during his two spells at Porto FC.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Comments

Pepe found Ronaldo as a brother and his bond with the famous fellow Portuguese star was very close. Football fans were in awe to see the two stars leave Real Madrid where they achieved a lot of glory. Cristiano Ronaldo has already praised Pepe in the past. They both were like brothers and Ronaldo also commented in favor of Pepe on social media platform:

“We won everything there was to win on the pitch, but the biggest triumph is the friendship and the respect I have for you. You’re unique, my brother. Thank you for so much.

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