When Pepe (Maceió, 1983) takes the field this Tuesday, he will do so at 41 years and 15 days old. It is twenty years after his debut, on September 14, 2004. This means that he will be the fifth oldest player to play in a Champions League match in the entire history of the competition. A fact that shows that Pepe’s physical condition is to be admired. In fact, the Portuguese is the oldest outfield player in the history of the Champions League. A football legend with all the letters.
There are only four footballers who have played in the top continental competition older. These are Mark Schwarzer (41 years, 6 months and 24 days) with Chelsea in 2014, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi (41 years, 8 months and 11 days) with Dynamo Kiev in 2016, Gianluigi Buffon (42 years, 10 months and 10 days) in 2020 and Marco Ballotta (43 years, 8 months and 8 days) with Lazio in 2007. All of them, goalkeepers. To find another outfield player we have to go back to 2006, when Alessandro Costacurta played for AEK-Milan at the age of 40 years, 6 months and 28 days.
As is evident, Pepe has also been the oldest player in this edition. He was followed by his compatriot José Fonte, 39, but Braga was eliminated in the group stage. The next one who is still alive at this point in the competition is Modric, 38 years old.
Pepe is totally indisputable for Sergio Conceiçao, who has started him in all the games in which he has had him available this season. The captain has only missed a couple of games due to injury and a few more due to a straight red card. However, his contract expires next summer. His continuity is an unknown, even more so considering that there are elections for the club’s presidency.