Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini wants to raid his former club for Real Madrid defender Pepe, according to reports.
A number of papers in the UK claim the Chilean, who guided the Citizens to the Premier League title in his first season in charge in England, wants to sign the Portugal defender as a replacement for Martin Demichelis next summer.
The Etihad Stadium side have reportedly twice made an approach for the 31-year-old and on both occasions have been turned down by Los Blancos. With his contract set to expire in 2016, the club is believed to be willing to listen to offers in the summer.
A fee of around 10 million euros would be enough to persuade Florentino Perez and the rest of the Real board to agree to a deal with the Premier League champions, reports say,
The former Porto man joined the 10-time European Cup winners in the summer of 2007 and has played a key role in the side’s success in recent years. He has formed a formidable partnership alongside Sergio Ramos in the heart of the defence and helped the side lift a host of trophies including the Champions League, La Liga, the Copa dey Rey, European Super Cup and Spanish Supercopa.
