Pepe has said that he would love his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to join him at Besiktas.
“If I could choose and if it were possible, of course I would like for Cristiano [Ronaldo] to come here,” he said. “He’s a person for whom I have maximum respect.”
Since arriving in Turkey, Pepe has regularly praised his new club’s fans, drawing some protest from supporters back in Madrid.
Although linked with a host of clubs including Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain last summer, he said he had been drawn to Besiktas by the affection shown by their fans even before he had joined.
“I had many offers from many big, important European clubs,” he said. “When Besiktas came to me with their offer and their project — it grabbed my attention. Many people sending me messages on social media, to my wife as well and those around me.
“I couldn’t turn my back on all this affection. I spent a lot of time in Spain and Portugal as well… But here it’s like nothing I’ve experienced before. Here, Turkish people live football. Football is a passion of theirs. They demonstrate it with love and affection for their team.”
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