Portugal icon Pepe has entered the UEFA Champions League history books by becoming the oldest outfield player to appear in the competition, aged 40 years and 241 days. The former Real Madrid defender played the full 90 minutes in the 4-1 victory over Royal Antwerp and has a long way before he takes over the record of former Lazio keeper Marco Ballotta.
Pepe overtook the previous record set by Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta, who played his last match at the age of 40 years and 211 days. Costacurta held the record for 17 long years before Pepe broke it against Antwerp.
I più anziani in Champions: Pepe supera Costacurta#SkySport #SkyUCL #UCL #Pepe #Porto #Costacurtahttps://t.co/M5a5VOupiY
— skysport (@SkySport) October 26, 2023
Having made his top-tier tournament debut back in the 2004/05 season, the hard-headed defender is still going strong aged 40. However, he has two more years to wait out if he wishes to take over the all-time record held by Serie A icon Ballotta.
Ballotta holds the absolute record, appearing aged 43 years and 252 days for Lazio against Real Madrid in the 2007/08 UCL edition, a match in which Pepe himself played.
At 40 years and 241 days, Pepe has become the oldest-ever outfield player to play in the Champions League 👏
LEGEND 🍷 pic.twitter.com/9gDsW1HBwL
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 25, 2023
Pepe won the UCL three times during his decade-long stay in the Spanish capital with Los Blancos. And he is not set to hang up his boots anytime soon, with Ballotta’s record swiftly in his sights. Ballotta played for the likes of Parma, Lazio, Inter, Reggiana, Modena, Treviso, and a few more sides in a professional career that spanned three decades.
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |