Pepe keeps a secret to continue playing high-performance football at 37 years old. The Porto center-back told the “Leading from behind” talk on the Summit 2020 website about his method: “Cristiano and I got into cold water to recover for the next game. We had that routine. Today it's not so much water cold like cold machines which help us to recover “.
The former player of Real Madrid has analyzed his work after the games: “I have tried to find out what I can improve after one game, even to know how to recover for the next. I am lucky to work with innovative people. Football is much more than 90 minutes of play. I was always curious to the point of asking my coaches and my teammates how I could evolve. This search for perfection allows me to be 37 years old and to renew with Porto for another two years (until 2023). Much of that work that I did At the beginning of my career I still do it today. “
The center-back began the season as Porto captain imposing his defensive order on the Portuguese team against Mbappé's France and on the dragons team. He completed 100 games in the Champions League and then came his ordeal with plantar fasciitis that has deprived him of playing the last seven games.
