Ex-Real Madrid star admits he slept in same bed as his mother until he was 17

A former Real Madrid star slept in the same bed as his mother until the age of 17 before going on to become one of the football's hardest players.

Pepe, renowned as a no-nonsense centre-back who picked up yellow and red cards aplenty, was capped 141 times for Portugal but actually grew up in Brazil, moving country to further his football career in his late teens.

He linked up with Cristiano Ronaldo during a brief spell in the Sporting CP academy before signing for Madeira-based outfit Maritimo and making 64 appearances for the club before joining Porto and winning back-to-back league titles.

However, before he made the move, the defender still required a great amount of love and attention from his mum and slept in the bed with his parents even though he had more than developed physically.

"Until I came to Portugal, at the age of 17, I slept with my mother, so imagine what it was like [laughter]," he told Portuguese outlet Tribuna Expresso,

"I was already big and I slept with my parents, so I imagine my father did not like to have me there [laughs].

"This is interesting: the other day I was talking to my mother and she was telling me that I really liked to run my hand through her hair and I told her that maybe I already knew it would be too much time away from her."

Pepe retired from football after Euro 2024. Image: Getty

Pepe established himself at Real, winning La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues in 334 games in a decade at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo's offer to Pepe

Pepe left for Besiktas in 2017 and spent two seasons in Turkey before returning to Porto for a second spell. But when it emerged he was leaving for Real, Ronaldo tried to convince him to stay put and even offered to give him money.

"I talked to him a lot and he told me to stay at Real Madrid," Pepe recalled in an interview with Renascenca.

"But I think my time at the club had come, because it was a very demanding 10 years, where I gave up a lot of time. I tried to explain to him that I could no longer be there because of the difficulties I was having at the time and he said: 'If it’s about the money, mate, I’ll give up my money to give it to you!' And I said no: 'Thank God it’s not about that, it’s for other reason'. I also wanted to get back to feeling football, and that’s it, I decided to go to Turkey."

Pepe, who turns 42 later this month, retired from football after representing Portugal at Euro 2024.