The Portuguese defender- Pepe- will be drawing the curtain on his 10-season stay at the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season, with a £248,000-a-week deal reportedly in place ahead of a switch to Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old arrived from Porto in 2007 for £25million and has won it all with the Spanish capital club. Pepe has 2 La Liga winners medal, 2 Champions League medals, a Uefa Super Cup, 2 Fifa Club World Cups, 2 Copas del Rey and 2 Spanish Super Cups as a testament to the role he played as part of a solid Madrid defence in the last decade.
His exit will definitely be a huge miss for Zidane, and here are 3 quality replacements the La Liga giants can land come summer.
The 22-year-old sustained an injury that ruled him out of action for almost a year, and that has seen him lose his place in Chelsea’s starting XI. While he still has a chance to regain his spot next season at the Stamford Bridge, a switch to the Bernabeu will be too much a temptation he can overcome.
His fellow France international, Varane, has already taken Pepe’s place in Zidane’s starting XI, and the 23-year-old is a long-term replacement. Zouma would be a long-term replacement for the 30-year-old Sergio Ramos if he is recruited, and a capable backup to the side’s skipper.
The French youngster already has a Premier League medal and some level of experience despite his tender years. Zouma is solid in aerial situations at both ends of the pitch and a brilliant tackler who is calm in one-on-one situations.
Playing under Zidane would definitely appeal to him no doubt, and it’s a move Madrid will benefit from if they do manage to secure it.
The 20-year-old Germany is regarded as the best young centre-half in Europe, and this isn’t farther from the truth.
The Bayer Leverkusen defender is a huge player who only doesn’t rely on his physicality, but also his intelligence. His calmness on the ball is also an advantage he has over most modern-day defenders, and without a doubt, Madrid can do with such a quality signing.
Tah is also very fast, and his pace enables him to deal with counters just perfectly. As a result, he is good in aerial duels and his ability to read the game well makes him timely with the interceptions.
He is already in his 4th season as a professional, and his potential has seen him earn a place in the national team squad.
With Bayer Leverkusen certainly not playing Champions League football next term, Real Madrid could lure him to Bernabeu with that offer, and he would make a long-term perfect partner with Varane at the heart of Los Blancos’ defence.
A return to the La Liga and back home to link up with Real Madrid would definitely excite the former Athletic Bilbao defender.
No matter how much the Bundesliga giants refuse to admit it, a switch to the Bernabeu is definitely a step up move in any player’s career, and it wouldn’t be any different in Martinez’s case.
Already an experienced player as far as the La Liga goes, the 28-year-old veteran would have no problem displacing Varane in the starting lineup, with his experience on all fronts bound to be very handy to the team’s cause.
Martinez is calm on the ball and hardly play stray passes – a quality lacking in Madrid’s defence at the moment. He is also strong aerially and is one of the few defenders in the world that can perfectly fit the void Pepe’s departure is about to create.
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