Love him or hate him, no one can deny that Pepe has been one of the best defenders in European football over the last decade or so. The Brazilian born Portugal international has won almost everything there is available to win in the game, dominating at club level with both FC Porto and Real Madrid were he won a total of 5 league titles, 7 domestic cups and 3 Champions League titles during a glittering career. And to top it off he played a crucial role in Portugal's success at the 2016 European Championships, where they overcame a strong France side on home soil 1-0 to win their first ever major trophy.
Now at the age of 35 he's approaching the end of his career so he's made the decision to move back to the club that really put him on the map in FC Porto. The current Liga NOS leaders picked him up on a free transfer following the expiry of his deal with Besiktas and he's looking right back at home in Portugal. Pepe has become popular for his unique style of defending along with the occasional bit of play acting. But he's also recognised as one of the dirtiest players in the game, with him constantly in trouble with the referees due to his reckless nature when going into tackles - this has seen him pick up a huge 74 yellow cards and 3 reds & to be honest we're surprised it's not more!
On Tuesday night he lined up for Porto in the Taca de Portugal against Leixoes, a game which Porto were expected to win comfortably but they made it difficult for themselves, eventually rolling out 2-1 winners in extra time. It was a full blooded game with 5 bookings but the most controversial of them all came when Pepe put in an absolutely horrendous two footed lunge with just a couple of minutes remaining on the clock. He dived in and left the opposition player in a heap on the floor and quite frankly he was a VERY lucky man not to see red.
Do you think it was worthy of a red card? Make your mind up below... (Video courtesy of @elgordonove)
