Legendary Defender Pepe Retires from Professional Football At Age 41.

• Legendary Portuguese central defender has announced his retirement from football on Thursday. 

• He played for Real Madrid, Besiktas, Porto, and the Portugal national team.

• He took the decision to hang his boots at the age of 41, and like former teammate Toni Kroos, his last action in the game was at Euro 2024 earlier in the summer.

Pepe made his retirement official in a 33-minute video shared on his social media, where he reflects on his career and the 31 trophies he won, including three UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid.

In the video titled "Obrigado" (Thank you), Pepe acknowledged the "essential" role of his mother for "letting him chase his dream of becoming a professional footballer" and expressed gratitude to his family, fans, teammates, and the club presidents who "believed in" him.

The Brazilian born footballer, naturalized for Portugal in 2007 and retires after representing the Portuguese national team 141 times, scoring 8 goals across four World Cups and five European Championships, including the most recent in Germany.

At the time of his retirement, he sat third on Portugal's all-time list of appearance makers, only bettered by Joao Moutinho and former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

He was instrumental in Portugal's first major achievement, winning the 2016 Euros in France, as well as the Nations League three years later (2019).

Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) President Fernando Gomes labelled the defender "one of the greatest players of all time" and thanked him for his "extraordinary professionalism, dedication... and passion for football".

"At the end of his football career, Pepe leaves us an example of professionalism, dedication, and, above all, a tremendous passion for football and the national team," said Fernando in a statement.

In total, Pepe played 894 matches throughout his career, with his last appearances being in the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, where Portugal were eliminated by France on penalties in the quarter-finals, ending his 22-year career at the top level of the game.

He became the oldest player to appear at a European Championship finals tournament, and also made the EUROs Team of the Tournament in 2008, 2012 and 2016. 

Képler Laveran de Lima Ferreira 'Pepe began his professional career at Corinthians Alagoano in his hometown of Maceió.

In 2001, at just 19 years old, he moved to the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira to join Marítimo.

Three years later in 2004, he signed with Porto, where he won two Primeira Liga titles and one Portuguese Cup, marking the first trophies in a collection that expanded when he moved to Spain's capital in 2007.

It was at Real Madrid that Pepe spent his best years. He was at Los Blancos from 2007 to 2017 (10 seasons). He became a key figure for the team, playing 334 matches and scoring 15 goals.

During that time with Los Blancos, he won 13 major honours: three La Liga titles, three Champions Leagues, two Copa del Reys, two FIFA Club World Cups, two Spanish Super Cups and one UEFA Super Cup.

In 2017, he left the Santiago Bernabéu for Besiktas, and after a season and a half with the Turkish club, he returned to Porto.

Even in the final stages of his career, he remained a crucial player for Porto, captaining the team until the end of his career.

In his two stints at Porto, between 2004-2007 and 2019-2024, winning a total of four Primeira Liga titles, five Portuguese Cups, and a League Cup to his collection with the "dragons."