Former Real player Pepe criticises ‘unenthusiastic’ fans
madrid — Former Real Madrid defender Pepe has blasted the Liga club’s fans as “unenthusiastic”, contrasting the hushed atmosphere of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium with the cauldron of noise he is now exposed to with Turkish champions Besiktas.
The Portugal international left Real for Besiktas in July after winning three Liga titles, two King’s Cup trophies and three Champions League crowns. Despite his success in Spain, Pepe criticised the Real fans in an interview with BeIN Sports Turkey. “Perhaps Real Madrid fans won’t like me saying this but they say Real Madrid fans transmit enthusiasm but I don’t think they do. That’s not the reality,” 34-year-old Pepe said on Monday.
“The Besiktas fans are very passionate. When you go out onto the pitch the noise coming from the stands always hits you.”
The deafening atmosphere at Besiktas’s Vodafone Arena hit the headlines in September when RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner asked to be substituted during their 2-0 Champions League defeat, with the German club saying the player was suffering from circulatory problems and dizziness from the noise.
“The atmosphere at Besiktas is very different to at Real Madrid. In Turkey people really love sport, they only think about football,” added Pepe. “After games, we can hear the noise of the supporters until the early hours of the morning.”
Real have had a difficult first campaign since Pepe’s departure, suffering back-to-back defeats to Liga debutants Girona and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League last week and are third in the domestic standings. —