10 superstars who could have played for Brazil but didn’t

#3 Pepe (Portugal)

Pepe won the Euro 2016 with Portugal

Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira or popularly known as Pepe was born in Maceió, Brazil and at the age of 18, he moved to Portugal to play for Marítimo. After impressing for Marítimo, Pepe earned a move to Portuguese giants, Porto, in 2004 where he rose to fame.

Pepe never represented Brazil at any youth level. According to the player’s father, in 2006, Brazil’s then head coach, Dunga, contacted him about a possible call-up which the player refused as he wanted to join the Portugal national team once he received Portuguese citizenship.

In August 2007, Pepe acquired Portuguese citizenship and made his debut for the national team later that year. He has gone on to play 103 games for Portugal which makes him the sixth most capped player for the country.

The veteran defender was a crucial part of the Portugal side that won the Euro in 2016 and he was named the man of the match in the final against hosts and outright favourites, France.