One of the scariest prospects facing Manchester City ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Real Madrid – other than crossing paths with the deadly BBC trio – is going head-to-head with Portuguese center-back Pepe, the no-nonesense defender infamous for his rough style of play.
However, the Blancos ace looks to dismiss claims that he is a violent psychopath who stamps and tramples upon opponents, despite previously committing those offences.
Pepe has been involved in several controversial confrontations with other Liga BBVA players, having received a 10-match ban after stamping on Javier Casquero of Getafe back in 2008-09, before laying his studs into Messi’s hands back in 2012.
However, the 33-year-old defender was keen to draw light to the fact that his record this season is cleaner than even Barca’s Neymar, telling Surface (as per beIN Sports):
"The people can say what they want, but fact remains that Neymar has been booked more often than me.
"Real Madrid are an exemplary club. I would never have had the chance to play for this club for such a long period had I really been such a crazy, violent player."
As odd as it may seem, Pepe has picked up less bookings this campaign than the Selecao attacker despite being a defender, with the latter an attacker. However, it should be pointed out that the 24-year-old Brazilian ace has racked up more appearances this season than the Portuguese man, with 31 games to Pepe’s 20.
The former Porto will be in action for Los Blancos when they head to the Etihad stadium for the 1st leg tie of their semi-final match-up with the Citizens in the Champions League.
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