Marítimo Born in
Maceió,
Alagoas, Pepe was named Kepler Laveran by his father in honour to scientists
Johannes Kepler and
Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran. He started playing football with local
Corinthians Alagoano. At age 18, alongside teammate
Ezequias, he moved to Portugal to sign with
Marítimo in
Madeira, spending the vast majority of his first season with the
B-team. After being promoted to the main squad for the
2002–03 season, under Ukrainian manager
Anatoliy Byshovets, Pepe rarely missed a match, playing in several positions including
defensive midfielder. During the
2002–03 pre-season, Pepe was given permission to train with
Sporting CP for two weeks, after which a deal could be negotiated for his transfer. However, neither club could agree on financial terms and the negotiations broke down, with the player returning and going on to help Marítimo finish sixth in the
following campaign and qualify to the
UEFA Cup, having contributed with 1 goal in 30 matches.
Porto in 2006 In May 2004, shortly before the club sealed the league and
UEFA Champions League, Pepe signed for
Porto. In
his first season, with Spanish coach
Víctor Fernández at the helm, Pepe was mostly used as a backup player, playing under veterans
Pedro Emanuel,
Jorge Costa and utility defender
Ricardo Costa. However, in
the following year, under the guidance of
Co Adriaanse, he had a breakthrough season, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the domestic competition: the Dutchman often chose a
3–4–3 offensive system, with the player often pitched as the only natural stopper. Porto eventually won back-to-back leagues and the
Taça de Portugal.
Real Madrid 2007–11: Transfer and rise to prominence On 10 July 2007,
Real Madrid signed Pepe to a five-year contract, paying Porto a €30 million transfer fee. On 15 March 2008, Pepe scored the only (
own) goal in a 0–1 away loss against
Deportivo La Coruña. Eight months later, he was involved in a fight during training with teammate
Javier Balboa – the defender was nonetheless called up for Real's next match, whereas the
winger was not. As
Los Blancos were eventually
crowned champions of
La Liga, he delivered a
Man of the match performance in a 1–0 win at the
Camp Nou against
Barcelona. Pepe was constantly hampered by injuries throughout the
2008–09 campaign. On 21 April 2009, he was also involved in an incident with
Getafe'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 kicked Casquero 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 ten-match ban, which effectively ended his season. of
Atlético Madrid in 2010 In 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 at the
Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, heading home from a
Guti free-kick in a 1–2 loss. However, on 12 December, during a match at
Mestalla against
Valencia (3–2 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. He went on to miss the rest of the season, jeopardising his
2010 FIFA World Cup chances. For
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 pairings in La Liga. 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, "[W]hen 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 matches due to injury and, after exhausting negotiations, finally signed 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 Barcelona defender
Dani Alves in an eventual 0–2 home loss. However, Alves also came into strong criticism, with Real Madrid claiming the Brazilian fullback had exaggerated the incident. Additionally, sportspersons including
Rio Ferdinand,
Michael Owen and
Rory McIlroy criticised 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 Pepe therefore received a one-match ban from European competition, which he served by not playing in the 1–1 draw in the second leg at
Camp Nou.
2011–17: European and domestic success and departure On 12 July 2011, Pepe extended his contract with Real Madrid again, until the end of the 2015–16 season. In a match against
Osasuna on 6 November, he scored the team's second goal in an eventual 7–1 home routing. In the first match of the
Copa del Rey quarter-final against Barcelona on 18 January 2012, he stamped on the hand of
Lionel Messi, who was on the ground after having been 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, but he 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 in which he was
booked and Real Madrid finished with nine players, he confronted
referee José Luis Paradas Romero in the locker room area, saying, "What a ripoff motherfucker." Two days later, he was suspended for two matches. In the 2011–12 season, Pepe formed a formidable centre back partnership with
Sergio Ramos. That campaign, he went on to make 29 appearances in
La Liga and 45 appearances in all competitions as Real Madrid claimed their 32nd league title. On 19 August 2012, in the
league opener against Valencia, Pepe collided with Real Madrid
goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the play that led to the visitors equalising the score 1–1 (the final result). He was subsequently taken to hospital for observation, being released the following day. Amid feuds with Mourinho, Pepe lost his starting place to
Raphaël Varane throughout the season and would end up getting into a scuffle with
Atlético Madrid manager
Diego Simeone from the substitutes' bench in the
2013 Copa del Rey Final. In the
2013–14 season, Pepe had a personal career high number of goals scored and appearances made for Real Madrid, making 11 appearances in their
La Decima winning campaign in the
2013-14 UEFA Champions League.
Carlo Ancelotti, the Real Madrid manager at the time, spoke of his importance saying, "We're more assured with him. He gives us confidence, personality and he helps the other players; he is very important for them." In the
2015–16 season, Pepe made nine appearances in the
UEFA Champions League and 31 appearances in all competitions. He started the match when the team won the
Champions League final against Atlético Madrid in a
penalty shoot-out at
San Siro,
Milan. In his last year playing for Real Madrid, Pepe had an injury-riddled season, in which he made 13 appearances, when Madrid won their 33rd
La Liga and their twelfth
UEFA Champions League title, defeating
Juventus in the
final at
Principality Stadium,
Cardiff.
Beşiktaş Turkish
Süper Lig side
Beşiktaş announced the signing of Pepe on a free transfer from Real Madrid, on 4 July 2017. His contract was worth €9.5 million in total over the two-years, plus a €4,000 bonus for each match played. On 13 August, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 home win against
Antalyaspor. On 19 April 2018, in the second leg of the
Turkish Cup against
Fenerbahçe, he received his first red card for Beşiktaş after a tackle on
Souza. The match was later abandoned after the Beşiktaş coach was struck by an object thrown from the stands. Pepe revoked his contract with Beşiktaş in a mutual agreement on 17 December 2018.
Return to Porto On 8 January 2019, Pepe returned to Porto after over a decade, on a 2-year contract. A week later, he played his first game for Porto since 2007 in the
2018–19 Taça de Portugal quarter-finals, winning 2–1 away to
Leixões. While his side ended the 2018–19 season as league runners-up on the final day and lost the
cup final on penalties to Sporting, they won both tournaments in 2019–20. Following
Danilo Pereira's exit to
Paris Saint-Germain, Pepe was appointed as
club captain on 12 October 2020. The following month, he extended his contract to 2023. On 25 October 2023, at 40 years and 241 days, Pepe became the oldest outfield player to play in the UEFA Champions League, in a 4–1
group stage victory away at
Royal Antwerp, breaking the record previously held by
Alessandro Costacurta for 17 years. On 7 November, in the return fixture, Pepe headed in Porto's second goal in a 2–0 victory over Royal Antwerp, becoming, at 40 years and 254 days old, the oldest ever goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League history, breaking the record previously held by
Manfred Burgsmüller in 1988. On 13 December, Pepe started and scored in a 5–3 Champions League victory over
Shakhtar Donetsk, setting both his records to 40 years and 289 days. On 12 March 2024, at 41 years old, in a match against
Arsenal, Pepe became the first outfield player over the age of 40 to play in the Champions League knock-out stage. ==International career==