(Reuters)
Portugal defender Pepe has retired from football, the 41-year-old said on Thursday.
Pepe's last game came at Euro 2024, where Portugal were defeated by France on penalties in the quarter-finals, and he became the oldest player to appear at a European Championship finals tournament.
He made 141 appearances for his country, winning the Euros in 2016, and spent 10 seasons at Real Madrid where he won three LaLiga titles and three Champions League trophies, as well as two FIFA Club World Cups.
Pepe joined the Spanish side in 2007 from Porto, and returned to the Portuguese club in 2019 where he remained until the end of his career, winning four Primeira Liga titles across his two spells at the club.
Portuguese football federation 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".