Real Madrid have done an incredible season winning the double with La Liga, and the Champions League. This was a very difficult task, because Los Blancos had not won La Liga in the last five years and they are the first team who claimed for second time in a row the Champions League title. Now it’s the moment to evaluate the performance of the players during the season 2016-2017.
This was one of the worst seasons of Pepe since his arrival to Real Madrid 10 years ago. The Portuguese full back spent all the year trying to arrive to an agreement with Real Madrid for a new contract based on a two year deal, but Los Blancos only offered him a renewal for one year. There were many rumours about his signing for PSG, Inter Milan and China but finally he decided to finish his stage at Madrid signing with the Turkish team Besiktas.
In the beginning of the season everybody thought that Pepe was going to be Sergio Ramos pair in the defense, after his great performance in the Euro of France, winning the title and being one of the best players of the tournament. Nonetheless, Zinedine Zidane trusted Varane instead of Pepe, and after having many injuries during the season, the French player proved himself to be a key player in the squad. In fact, Nacho was the third full back, having a lot of minutes during the season and being the perfect substitute when there was any absence in the defense. Pepe’s best match was the capital derby against Atlético Madrid, where he opened the score board with a great header.
After 10 years playing for Real Madrid and after winning three Champions League titles, Pepe didn’t have a good farewell. The Portuguese defender was very upset with Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Pérez’s decision because he thought he deserved a better behavior with him. Pepe played only 13 games in La Liga, three in Champions League and two in Copa del Rey. Hopefully, he can show also his quality in Turkey but we must affirm that the Turkish league doesn’t have the same level as the important top European leagues.
