Pepe urges Ronaldo to join Besiktas

Bengaluru, November 22: Former Real Madrid star Pepe has urged his compatriot and close friend Cristiano Ronaldo to join him at Turkish giants Besiktas.

According to reports five-time Ballon d'OR winner Cristiano Ronaldo is looking to leave Los Blancos next summer after a poor start to the season and his former Real Madrid teammate Pepe will welcome him at the Istanbul club.

Paris Saint-Germain's world-record signing Neymar has been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu which has upset the Portuguese superstar and it is believed that Ronaldo is looking to quit the 12-time European champions.

The former Manchester United star wouldn't be short of offers should he quit Real but realistically very few could afford his wages.

Besiktas star Pepe is confident he can lure Ronaldo to Turkey for a Portuguese reunion next summer.

The pair played alongside each other for eight seasons at Real and also play alongside easch other for Portugal.

The Turkish giants are slowly putting together a star-studded team of their own which includes Gary Medel, Alvaro Negredo and Ryan Babel. But getting someone like Ronaldo would take them to the seventh heaven.

Besiktas have won the Turkish Super Lig for the past two seasons and are also on the verge of finishing first in their Champions League group ahead of Porto, RB Leipzig and Monaco.

Pepe told CNN: "If I could choose, and if it were possible, of course I would like for Cristiano to come here. He is a person for whom I have maximum respect.

"When Besiktas came to me with their offer and their project, it grabbed my attention. Many people sending me messages on social media, to my wife as well and those around me.

"I couldn't turn my back on all this affection. I spent a lot of time in Spain and Portugal but here it's nothing like I've experienced before. Turkish people live football. It's a passion of theirs. They demonstrate it with love and affection for their team."