Pepe Announces Retirement from Professional Football

Portuguese footballer Pedro Alves Pepé, also known as "Pepe", has retired from football after playing 23 years of football for various clubs, and also the Portuguese national team, and won 34 trophies in his football career. The retirement was announced through a 33-minute video titled ‘Obrigado’ which is Portuguese for ‘Thank You’. This video marked the retirement of the career of one of football’s most notorious and respected center-backs.

The last time Pepe played on the field was in the quarter-final round of Euro 2024 in which the Portuguese team was defeated by the French team through a penalty shoot-out. Real Madrid’s former 41-year-old centre-back hangs up his boots after he played 878 games for five clubs including FC Porto and the Spanish Giants Real Madrid, for whom he was a mainstay in the backline.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who played with Pepe in Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team, expressed his feelings in an Instagram post. “I can’t find adequate words to explain how dear you are to me, my friend,” Ronaldo penned down. ‘We conquered all that could be conquered in the field and the sweetest victory is the friendship we have for each other; I love you my brother you are so special.’  His career started at Maritimo in 2002 and he was quickly spotted because of his potential. In 2004 he signed for FC Porto where he got his first taste of silverware, four Primeira Liga championships. However, it is his tenure with Real Madrid that can be considered his most successful, where in a decade he won the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, and other trophies.

Internationally, Pepe was an ever-present figure in the Portuguese team, amassing 141 caps to make him the third highest-capped player for Portugal. He was at his best in 2016 when Portugal won the UEFA European Championship; he was awarded the Player of the Match during the final match against France.

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