Pepe

PEPE(DF)

Real Madrid

On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Pepe to a five-year contract, for a fee of €30 million. On 15 March 2008, he scored the only (own) goal in a 1–0 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña. Eight months later, he was involved in a fight during training with teammate Javier Balboa. The defender would be nonetheless called-up for Real's next match, whereas the winger was not. As the Merengues were eventually crowned La Liga champions, he delivered a Man of the matchperformance in a 1–0 win at FC Barcelona, almost single-handedly stopping the opposition's attacks.

Pepe would be constantly hampered by injuries throughout 2008–09. On 21 April 2009, he was involved in an incident with Getafe CF's Javier Casquero: with the score at 2–2 and only a few minutes to play, he brought down the midfielder in the penalty area, being subsequently sent off. He then proceeded to kick the fallen opponent twice, once on his shin and once on his lower back. When being pulled away from Casquero, he also pushed his head into the turf and stamped on him several times; in the ensuing mêlée, he also struck another opposing player, Juan Ángel Albín, in the face, and eventually received a 10-game ban which effectively ended his season.

Pepe chasing down Sergio Agüero.

During the 2009–10 season, Pepe returned to claim his place back in the starting line-ups. On 4 October 2009, he scored his first goal in the league, against Sevilla FC at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, heading home from a Guti free kick in a 1–2 loss. On 12 December, however, during a game at Valencia CF (2–3 win), he landed awkwardly following an aerial challenge, and was stretchered off the pitch in the dying minutes of the first half. Scans later showed that he ruptured his right knee's anterior cruciate ligament,going on to miss the rest of the season and jeopardizing his FIFA World Cup chances.

In 2010–11, Pepe was joined at Real Madrid by countrymen Ricardo Carvalho and manager José Mourinho, pairing up with Carvalho to form one of the most efficient defensive sectors in the league. On 2 October 2010, Diario AS published an article where the player was reportedly open to leave the club on a Bosman transfer. According to the newspaper, "when he signed for Real Madrid in 2007, he sacrificed a part of his salary to pay for his huge transfer fee. This made him one of the lowest earners at the club, making €1.8 million a year. Again, he missed several games due to injury (calf) and, after exhausting negotiations,finally put pen to paper on a new contract, renewing his link to the club until 2015.

Pepe spent the final stretch of the season appearing as a defensive midfielder, as Real Madrid faced Barcelona four times in less than one month. On 27 April 2011, in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, he was sent off for a controversial challenge on Daniel Alves, in an eventual 0–2 home loss. However, Alves also came into strong criticism, with Real Madrid claiming the Brazilian fullback had made a meal of the incident; additionally, sportspersons including Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Rory McIlroy, criticized Alves' actions.The next day, UEFA opened disciplinary cases against both clubs for a number of incidents during the match. The verdict was announced eight days later: the red card stood and hence, Pepe received a one-match ban from European competition, which he served by not taking part in the second-leg at Camp Nou.

On 12 July 2011, Pepe extended his contract with Real Madrid again, until the end of the 2015–16 season. In a match against CA Osasuna on 6 November, he scored the team's second goal in an eventual 7–1 home win.In the first match of the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Barcelona on 18 January 2012, he intentionally stamped on the hand of Lionel Messi, who was on the ground after being fouled. The incident drew strong criticism from the Spanish media, who also noted his coming-together with Cesc Fàbregas earlier in the 1–2 home defeat.Pepe insisted that the incident, which was not seen by the referee, was "unintentional". On 23 January, the Royal Spanish Football Federation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

On 21 March 2012, Pepe was involved in another serious incident: after a 1–1 away draw against Villarreal CF, in which he was booked and Real Madrid finished with nine players, he confronted referee José Luis Paradas Romero in the locker room area Romero saying: "What a ripoff motherfucker". Two days later, he was suspended for two games.