Pepe Ends Playing Career At 41
Veteran Portugal defender Pepe has announced the end of his playing career at the age of 41.
Pepe became the oldest player to feature at the European Championships when he played for Portugal at EURO 2024.
The former Real Madrid defender played the last five seasons of his career at FC Porto, his second spell at the club.
Pepe also played for Maritimo and Besiktas during his long career.
He won the Champions League three times and the Spanish La Liga thrice during a ten-year spell with Real Madrid.
Pepe's Portugal career spanned 17 years, 141 caps and brought European Championship glory in 2016.
"I want to thank God for giving me the wisdom to be able to continue my journey," an emotional Pepe said in a video on social media which looked back on his career.
"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."
