Pepe snubs Sergio Ramos when asked to name best centre half
The Real Madrid centre half gave an unpredictable answer when asked to choose the best defender he's ever shared a back line with.
Pepe sat down with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) for an interview that looked back over his long-spanning career marshalling the defences of the national team and Real Madrid. The Brazilian-born 33-year-old took no time in deciding the name of the best player he’s ever shared a dressing room with. That honour of course went to Cristiano Ronaldo. However, he provided a less predictable answer when asked to reveal the best centre half he has ever partnered up with in defence. “Mitchell Van der Gaag at Marítimo. I learned a lot from him”.
Pepe has teamed up with world-class defenders like Sergio Ramos, Ricardo Carvalho, Bruno Alves, Cannavaro, Metzelder, Heinze, Raúl Albiol and Garay... but, it turns out, it was the retired NEC, PSV and Utrecht player who impressed him most.