Cristiano Ronaldo is set to meet some familiar faces during his trip to his home country of Portugal.
Nevertheless, his most intimate friend at Porto is definitely Pepe.
The relationship between CR7 and the notorious defender dates back to the early 2000’s, when the latter had a trial at Sporting Lisbon.
Although the audition wasn’t a successful one, but a certain bond was built between the two men.
This relationship was later consolidated throughout years of playing together in the national team, and most importantly their time at Real Madrid.
In the Spanish capital, the club won two La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies while playing side by side.
According to La Gazzetta Dello Sport (via ilBianconero), Wednesday’s fixture between Juventus and Porto will be the first time that the two players go head to head since 2003.
During that year, Ronaldo’s Sporting took on Pepe’s Maritimo.
Therefore, the upcoming battle between the two won’t be just another clash between a striker and a defender, but it means much more than that.
Moreover, the report adds two additional curious facts about the relationship between the two men.
Firstly, Pepe once stated that CR7 is “like a father” to him, despite being two years older than the Juve star.
Secondly, in 2019 Cristiano sold Pepe a huge 800 square meter villa with a heliport and a boat dock in Valdozende in the Sierra de Geres, northern Portugal.
Although the price of the operation is believed to be 2.5 million euros, the source adds that this was actually a ”friend’s price”, as Ronaldo had previously bought the property for 4 millions euros.
