Pepe, ex Real Madrid, announces his retirement at 41

The player announced his retirement in a video shared on his social networks, in which he reviews his career and the 31 trophies he has won.

The Portuguese-Brazilian center, Pepeannounced this Thursday at the age of 41 the end of his career as a professional footballer, in which he played in the Real Madrid, Porto and selection of Portugal.

Pepe announced his retirement in a video shared on his social networks, in which he reviews his career and his 31 trophies won, such as the three Champions League which he won with Real Madrid.

Pepe applauds with Porto EPA/MANUEL FERNANDO ARAUJO

In the recording, titled “Obrigado” (thank you), the player recalled the “essential” role of his mother in “letting him fly towards his dream of being a professional footballer” and thanked his family, fans, teammates and club presidents who “bet” on him.

The player, born in Brazil and naturalized Portuguese, has played 894 matches in his career, the last ones in the Euro 2024 Germany.

Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira ‘Pepe’ (Maceió, Brazil, 1983) started out at Corinthians Alagoano in his native Maceió.

In 2001, at the age of 19 and with just five euros in his pocket, he moved to the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira to represent Marítimo.

Three years later he signed for the Portowhere he won two leagues and a Portuguese Cup; the first trophies of a list of achievements that was extended with his move to the Spanish capital in 2010, where he spent almost a decade in the Real Madrid.

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There, he became one of the mainstays of the white team, with which he played 334 matches and scored 15 goals, winning 3 Champions Leagues, 2 Club World Cups, 2 European Super Cups, 3 Leagues, 2 Copa del Reys and 2 Spanish Super Cups.

In 2019, he left the Santiago Bernabéu for the Besiktas Turkish, and a season and a half later he returned to Porto.

Even at the end of his career, he was a key part of the blue and white squad until his last season and, wearing the captain’s armband, he added two more Leagues, four Cups and a League Cup to his list of achievements with the ‘dragons’.

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Pepe He became a Portuguese citizen in 2007 and is leaving the club after having represented the Portuguese national team on 141 occasions, spread across four World Cups and five European Championships, including the most recent one in Germany.

He was instrumental in the country’s first great achievement, the Euro Cup France 2016and added to the Portuguese list of achievements by winning the UEFA Nations League in 2019.

“At the end of his football career, Pepe He has left us an example of professionalism, dedication and, above all, an enormous passion for football and the national team,” said the president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Fernando Gomes, in a statement.