Pepe’s wildest moments because the defender dubbed ‘Maldini with a bloodlust’ retires

Strikers of Europe, rejoice, for Pepe has finally retired!

No longer will you have to feel his pointy elbows in your back, and your hands will be safe from his ‘accidental’ stamps. From Muller to Messi, Drogba to Diego Costa, Pepe tangled with some of the greats, and rarely came out second best.

From World Cup reds to smacking a a rival in the face, the devilish defender had a terrible temper. One of the world’s best for over a decade, Daily Star Sport reckons the world of football will be much poorer in his absence.

So let’s take a look at some of Pepe’s greatest (and not so great) moments, as well as uncover some lesser known facts.

Mummy’s boy

Despite playing 141 times for the Portuguese national team, Pepe, real name Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira, was born and raised on the beautiful Brazilian coast.

When naming their child, Pepe’s mum and dad wanted to give him a name that would make the boy stand out.

Hoping their darling son would become a scientist, the couple took their encyclopaedia, and landed on German astronomer and maths boffin Johannes Kepler as their inspiration.

Their son didn’t quite follow the path of namesake who influenced Isaac Newton and helped discover the secrets of the universe. Instead, the young Kepler rejected test tubes for crunching tackles, and began playing for the local team Corinthians Alagoano.

While impressing on the football pitch, Pepe (a common Brazilian nickname he picked up) wasn’t always the hard man off it.

The former Real Madrid and Porto legend apparently slept in a bed with both parents till he was 17, and enjoyed brushing his mother’s hair.

Move to Europe

Pepe’s big break came when a Portuguese club came to watch a rival striker at a trial game. Reports suggest that Pepe was asked to go easy on the striker, but instead made the forward’s life a living hell for 90 minutes.

The unnamed striker was rejected by Madeira-based Marítimo. Pepe took his place on the flight back instead.

Pepe spent three years on the Portuguese island of Madeira, birth place of certain Cristiano Ronaldo, picking up a ridiculous 26 yellows and four red cards in 63 games, before being snapped up by giants Porto.

Pepe had the difficult task of replacing superstar Ricardo Carvalho, who joined Chelsea. However, the Brazil-born defender was brilliant for the 03/04 Champions League winners, winning two Portuguese titles.

The centre back was called up for the Portuguese national team in 2007, having rejected his native Brazil the year before.

That same year, Real Madrid came a-calling, with the talented defender joining the likes of Arjen Robben and Raul at Los Blancos in a 30 million Euro move.

Scrapping in Spain

Pepe brought defensive steel to the Galactico’s, but he also brought his fiery temper.

The centre-back was famously sent off during El Classico, Pepe seeing red for a brutal knee-high lunge on Brazilian Dani Alves. It was his conduct against Getafe April 2009 that really made Pepe’s name as a bonafide footballing menace, however.

Annoyed at Getafe’s Javier Casquero going down to easily under pressure, Pepe smashed his boot into the midfielder’s leg, before attempting to take a chunk out of the spaniard’s back with a second swipe.

Not content with dishing out some pain, the Madrid madman then stamped on Casquero’s ankle, before punching the Getafe man’s teammate Juan Angel Albin in the face. Pepe received a 10 game ban for his spree of manic violence, and apologised profusely for his actions.

“I lost control for a few minutes. I’ve seen the replays and I don’t recognise myself. I don’t have the words to describe how I feel. The biggest punishment that I could receive is what I’m feeling now.”

Its up to you whether you think Pepe learnt his lesson, but the centre back would go on to stamp on Lionel Messi’s hand, and receive a red card at the World Cup for whacking Thomas Muller in the face.

Becoming more zen with age

Whilst a young Pepe was genuinely one of football’s scariest men, the Portuguese defender, sometimes called The Assassin, did calm down in his later years.

Receiving only a handful of yellows in his last few years at Madrid, Pepe impressed the world with his calm and composure during Portugal’s surprise Euros 2016 win, as well as a stunning Champion’s League campaign with Porto last season.

The 2014 Portugal player of the year, who has also played in Turkey for Besiktas, became the oldest player to play at the Euros, and the oldest outfield player to feature in the Champions League.

He retires with a remarkable 32 major trophies to his name, as well as 210 yellow cards and 17 reds.