“I slept with my mother until I was 17; my father didn't like it”

Pepe, a Porto player and former Real Madrid player, has given an in-depth interview to the Portuguese media 'Tribuna Expresso', in which he recounts much of his professional career and many personal aspects that will not leave anyone indifferent. This is a summary of the long account:

Are you still doing magic tricks?

Just for my daughters, I still make some, with coins and letters.

And do you do these tricks in the dressing room?

No, I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed.

And what is the trick you have at your age to stay fit and so competitive?

My passion for soccer. Every day I wake up to train, I try to do it in the best possible way. I train intensely and I think that's my vitamin. Obviously, being 25 is not being 35 or, in my case, 37. At 25 we have so much energy that we end up not knowing how to use it. I, at 37 years old, can better use this energy in the field.

Does genetics help?

Yes, but there is also a lot of work behind it, a lot of rigor in the food, in the rest. But I wasn't always this thin; When he was three, four years old, he was plump, a little chubby. Then, from the age of seven I began to lose weight. I am the only male child in the family, I have three sisters (two older and one younger than me), so I was very, very spoiled.

How spoiled were you?

Look, until I arrived in Portugal, at the age of 17, I slept with my mother …

And what did your father say?

I was grown up and slept with my parents, so I guess my dad didn't really like having me in bed with them.

Why and since when do you shave your head?

The first time I shaved my head I was seven or eight years old. I once went to the hairdresser and asked him to give me a military cut. I got home and my mother told me: “My God, what have you done, your father is going to kill you …”. But my father came in and said it was a “man cut”. I only grew it when my daughters were born.

Did your parents want you to be a footballer?

My father did not have much time to accompany me during the week; Only weekends. I played for a club in my neighborhood, then a bigger one in my city, Maceió, which played in the second state division of Brasileirão; things started to get serious. So I had to change my school routines, I started studying at night to train in the morning, and there came a point, when I was 14, 15 years old, when I saw that soccer was not compatible with my education, I thought about quitting and my mother told me : “No, no, no way, now you go to the end. Change the whole routine again? You will be a soccer player. Those circumstances are part of life, you have to be strong.”

What was soccer like in your adolescence in Brazil?

I often saw colleagues of mine who were supposed to play and not play, because there were interests: the children of the parents who helped the club financially were the ones who played. That didn't work for me. For me, the one who trains and plays the best has to play. And my mother said, “Life is like that.”

Did you start as a central defender?

I played central and right back, but I preferred to be central. From my point of view, a central player has to play ugly when he has to play ugly. I have a coach (Sérgio Conceição) who divides the field into red, yellow and green zones, and in the red zone he plays ugly.

How did the option to go to Portugal come about?

Nelo Vingada, then Marítimo coach, and Carlos Pereira, president of the club, came to see the Corinthians Alagoano striker, where I played. The president of my club approached me and said: “Look, some Portuguese are coming and we want to sell the striker. It's to help the club, you know? So when the striker faces you, don't steal the ball many times. “And I said,” Yeah, yeah, sure, don't worry … “Then every time the striker came, he stole the ball from him. When the training ended, I saw Nelo Vingada with the president of Marítimo, and also with the president of Corinthians Alagoano, João Feijó. I thought it was going to be hard because I didn't pay attention to what they told me and, nevertheless, Nelo told me: “So, boy, do you want to come to Portugal?”, And I answered: “Sure, now”, “And your parents?”, He snapped, to which I said: “We are going to talk to them.” It happened that it was really going to happen, but then João Feijó hugged me: “You're going to Portugal.” I thought: “With 20 minutes of training?” They talked to my parents and it was decided that I would go to the Marítimo. I was going to play for play with the juniors, but I would train with Marítimo B. But there were complications. In the last game, my farewell with Corinthians Alagoano, I broke my foot. I had already signed or the contract. I thought my dream was over, but Nelo Vingada, who was like a second father to me, called me and reassured me: “You will recover in Portugal, in Madeira.” They didn't operate on me, I went to Portugal, I was in a cast for three or four months, I played for team B, for the juniors and I also played the last four games for team A. And they suggested, in 2002, to try out for Sporting, where Cristiano was already.

Is it true that you met Cristiano Ronaldo's parents before him?

Yes. I met the father, who worked near the Marítimo field; later to the sisters and the mother, and finally to Cris, in Lisbon. When I went to Sporting we shared a room. I was older than him, but I saw his professionalism in training, Cris went to the gym first.

What happened so that you didn't stay at Sporting?

They didn't reach an agreement, I spent two more years at Marítimo and then I signed for Porto. When I returned to Marítimo, I already had several offers from other clubs. One of them was Lyon, from France, also from Ukraine, from Holland … When Jorge Mendes came to talk to me, he told me: “I don't want to sign a contract with you, I don't need to, you have my word, I trust you.” Jorge told me about Porto and I agreed with him, but meanwhile, a Lyon representative came to my house in Brazil to try to close a contract. I called Jorge Mendes and told him that they gave me cash.

Literally on the table?

Yes, on the table. one million dollars. They had already agreed with Marítimo, but I had given the floor to Jorge Mendes and he reassured me: “He plays for a great club in Portugal and then other greats in Europe.” My parents couldn't believe it: “What do you mean you're not going to accept Lyon's offer? Are you crazy? This is our future.” But I fired the Lyon representative, kept my word to Jorge and went to Porto. I think it was the best decision of my career.

After Porto, Madrid …

Ufff … Everything was very fast, and in fact I could have gone earlier, to Deportivo de La Coruña, at the end of the first year. Only President Pinto da Costa told me: “No, no, no, by no means, you will stay here longer.” In the third year I renewed for another five and, at the end of the season, the proposal from Real Madrid arrived, I had other options, but I really wanted to go to Real, despite the fact that many people told me that I was crazy to go there, because it was very difficult and, above all, because it was a 'central cemetery and such'. I wanted that challenge.