Pepe (footballer, born 1983)

Marítimo

Born in Maceió, Alagoas, Pepe started playing football with local Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano. At the age of 18, alongside teammate Ezequias, he moved to Portugal and signed with C.S. Marítimo on the island of Madeira, spending the vast majority of his first season with the B-team.

After being promoted to the main squad for the 2002–03 season, under Russian manager Anatoliy Byshovets, Pepe rarely missed a game, playing in several positions including defensive midfielder.

During the 2002–03 pre-season Pepe was given permission to train with Sporting Club de Portugal for two weeks, after which a deal could be negotiated for his transfer. However, neither club could agree on financial terms and the negotiations broke down, with the player returning and going on to help Marítimo finish sixth in the following campaign and qualify to the UEFA Cup, having contributed with one goal in 30 games.

Porto

During the summer of 2004, Pepe signed with top division giants F.C. Porto for €1 million plus three players: Evaldo, Antonielton Ferreira and Tonel. A clause in the agreement also stated that Marítimo would receive 20% of any future transfer fee.

In his first season, with Spanish coach Víctor Fernández at the helm, Pepe was mostly used as a backup, playing under veterans Pedro Emanuel, Jorge Costa and utility defender Ricardo Costa. However, in the following year, under the guidance of Co Adriaanse, he had a breakthrough season, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the domestic competition: the Dutchman often chose a 3–4–3 offensive system, with the Brazilian often pitched as the only natural stopper; Porto eventually won back-to-back leagues and the 2006 Portuguese Cup.

2007–11 seasons

On 10 July 2007 Real Madrid signed Pepe to a five-year contract, for a fee of €30 million. On 15 March 2008, he scored the only (own) goal in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña. Eight months later, he was involved in a fight during training with teammate Javier Balboa – the defender was nonetheless called up for Real's next match, whereas the winger was not. As Los Blancos were eventually crowned champions of La Liga, he delivered a Man of the match performance in a 1–0 win at FC Barcelona.

Pepe was constantly hampered by injuries throughout the 2008–09 campaign. On 21 April 2009, he was also involved in an incident with Getafe CF's Javier Casquero: with the score at 2–2 and only a few minutes to play, he brought down the midfielder in the penalty area, being subsequently sent off. He then proceeded to kick the fallen opponent twice, once on his shin and once on his lower back. When being pulled away from Casquero, he also pushed his head into the turf and stamped on him several times. In the ensuing mêlée, he also struck another opposing player, Juan Ángel Albín, in the face, and eventually received a 10-game ban, which effectively ended his season.

In the 2009–10 season, Pepe returned to claim his place back in the starting line-ups. On 4 October 2009 he scored his first goal in the league, against Sevilla FC at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, heading home from a Guti free kick in a 1–2 loss. On 12 December, however, during a game at Valencia CF (3–2 win), he landed awkwardly following an aerial challenge, and was stretchered off the pitch in the dying minutes of the first half; scans later showed that he ruptured his right knee's anterior cruciate ligament. He went on to miss the rest of the season, jeopardizing his FIFA World Cup chances.

For 2010–11 Pepe was joined at Real Madrid by countrymen Ricardo Carvalho and manager José Mourinho, pairing up with Carvalho to form one of the most efficient defensive pairings in the league. On 2 October 2010, Diario AS published an article where the player was reportedly open to leave the club on a Bosman transfer: according to the newspaper, "when he signed for Real Madrid in 2007, he sacrificed a part of his salary to pay for his huge transfer fee – this made him one of the lowest earners at the club, making €1.8 million a year. Again, he missed several games due to injury and, after exhausting negotiations, finally put pen to paper on a new contract, renewing his link to the club until 2015.

Pepe spent the final stretch of the season appearing as a defensive midfielder, as Real Madrid faced Barcelona four times in less than one month. On 27 April 2011, in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, he was sent off for a controversial challenge on Dani Alves, in an eventual 0–2 home loss. However, Alves also came into strong criticism, with Real Madrid claiming the Brazilian fullback had exaggerated the incident; additionally, sportspersons including Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Rory McIlroy, criticized Alves' actions. The next day, UEFA opened disciplinary cases against both clubs for a number of incidents during the match. The verdict was announced eight days later: the red card stood and hence, Pepe received a one-match ban from European competition, which he served by not taking part in the second-leg at Camp Nou.

2011–17 seasons

On 12 July 2011 Pepe extended his contract with Real Madrid again, until the end of the 2015–16 season. In a match against CA Osasuna on 6 November, he scored the team's second goal in an eventual 7–1 home routing. In the first match of the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Barcelona on 18 January 2012, he stamped on the hand of Lionel Messi, who was on the ground after having been fouled. The incident drew strong criticism from the Spanish media, who also noted his coming-together with Cesc Fàbregas earlier in the 1–2 home defeat, but he insisted that the incident, which was not seen by the referee, was "unintentional". On 23 January, the Royal Spanish Football Federation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

On 21 March 2012, Pepe was involved in another serious incident: after a 1–1 away draw against Villarreal CF, in which he was booked and Real Madrid finished with nine players, he confronted referee José Luis Paradas Romero in the locker room area saying: "What a ripoff motherfucker." Two days later, he was suspended for two games.

On 19 August 2012, in the league opener against Valencia, Pepe collided with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the play that led to the visitors equalizing the score 1–1 (the final result). He was subsequently taken to hospital for observation, being released the following day. Amid feuds with Mourinho, Pepe lost his starting place to Raphaël Varane throughout the season and would end up getting into a scuffle with Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone from the bench in the Copa Del Rey final. He was starting the final when the team won the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.

In his last year playing for Real Madrid, Pepe had an injury-riddled season, in where he made 13 appearances, when Madrid won the 2016–17 La Liga and the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.

Beşiktaş

On 4 July 2017, Turkish Süper Lig side Beşiktaş J.K. announced the signing of Pepe on a free transfer from Real Madrid. He would earn €9.5 million in total during the 2-year contract, plus €4,000 for each match.

International career

Pepe never represented his native Brazil in any youth category. However, according to the player's father, in 2006 he was contacted by coach Dunga about a possible call-up, which he declined, stating that once he obtained Portuguese citizenship he would join its national team. He became naturalized in August 2007 and, on the 30th, was named in the Portuguese squad for the first time, in view of a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Poland. An injury while training for his club prevented the debut for his adopted country, which would materialize almost four months later, in Portugal's last game in the tournament against Finland on 21 November (0–0 home draw).

In the tournament's final stages, Pepe played in all of the national side's matches, scoring once in a 2–0 win against Turkey on 7 June 2008. Portugal eventually exited in the quarter-finals.

2010 FIFA World Cup

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Pepe was often used as a defensive midfielder by national coach Carlos Queiroz. After his serious knee injury while playing for Real Madrid, he was eventually selected for the squad that participated in the finals in South Africa, appearing against Brazil in the group stage (0–0) and eventual champions Spain in the round-of-16 (0–1 loss).

Euro 2012

Again a starter in Euro 2012 under manager Paulo Bento, Pepe opened the score in the second group game against Denmark, heading home after a João Moutinho corner kick in an eventual 3–2 win. He was later chosen by UEFA as man of the match and, in the semi-final, he was one of two Portugal players to score in a 2–4 penalty shootout defeat to Spain.

2014 FIFA World Cup

In the 2014 World Cup, Pepe received a red card in the first half of Portugal's opening match with Germany for headbutting Thomas Müller late into the first half of an eventual 0–4 loss. At the time Müller was sitting on the ground and Pepe walked back to Müller to headbutt him.

UEFA Euro 2016

Pepe was named man of the match in the UEFA Euro 2016 Final, helping his team to keep a clean-sheet in a 1–0 extra-time victory over hosts France and win his nation's first ever international title.

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

On 2 July 2017, in the third-place match against Mexico at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, Pepe scored an injury time equaliser to send the match into extra-time; Portugal eventually won the match 2–1 to capture the bronze medal.

Club statistics

¹ Includes the Supercopa de España and Turkish Super Cup
² Includes UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Club

International

Individual

Orders