Portuguese defender Képler Laverán Lima ‘Pepe’ announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 41 on Thursday, hanging up his boots after 22 seasons in the elite in which he has been part of four teams, as the player himself announced on his social networks.
Pepe, who announced his decision in a video in which he recalled some of the best moments of his career, is leaving professional football after more than 20 years at the highest level. Seasons in which he was part of four teams: Marítimo, the club with which he made his debut in Portugal, Porto, the club of his life where he spent two spells, Real Madrid, with whom he won three Champions Leagues, and Besiktas, where he was only a season and a half.
During his time in the Spanish league, which he joined in the summer of 2007, becoming the most expensive defender in the history of football, the Portuguese player managed to lift 13 titles – three Champions Leagues, two Club World Cups, two European Super Cups, three La Ligas, two Copa del Reys and two Spanish Super Cups. A period of 10 seasons in which he played 229 games.
With Porto he managed to lift 14 trophies: five Portuguese Cups, four leagues, four Super Cups, one League Cup and one Intercontinental Cup.
Pepe has been capped 141 times by Portugal, winning Euro 2016 and the Nations League in 2019, and has participated in five European Championships, including this summer’s in Germany, where he was a starter for the ‘tugas’, and four World Cups. He is also the third player in Portugal’s history with the most caps, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Moutinho.
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