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Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo left a message for his former Real Madrid and Portugal teammate Pepe, who decided to call time on his career
Cristiano Ronaldo has celebrated his former teammate Pepe after the Porto and Portugal defender announced his retirement from professional football.
Pepe announces retirement
Iconic Portuguese defender Pepe recently announced his retirement from football, closing the chapter on an extraordinary 23-year career at the ripe old age of 41.
The legendary centre-back leaves behind a lasting legacy, having played starred for Porto and Real Madrid, where he won three La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies over 334 appearances with the club.
He was also vital for Portugal, where he played a huge role in the country’s triumph at the 2016 European Championship and the 2019 UEFA Nations League.
Even as his career wound down, Pepe delivered impressive performances, particularly at Euro 2024, where he rolled back the years with an impressive showing as Portugal reached the quarterfinal before losing against France.
Ronaldo says goodbye to Pepe
Most of Pepe’s biggest achievements were earned alongside Ronaldo, who was his teammate at both Real Madrid and Portugal, winning almost every trophy available to them.
Ronaldo took to Instagram to celebrate Pepe’s retirement with a picture captioned, “No words to express how much you mean to me my friend.
“We won everything there was to win on the field, but the biggest achievement is the friendship and respect I have for you. You are unique my brother. Thank you for everything.”
Ronaldo himself is supposedly nearing the end of his career, but, the 39-year-old is still going strong, and could continue to feature for Portugal and Al Nassr for a few more years.
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