Figures reveal Pepe to be the cleanest centre-back in La Liga 2014/15

Pepe celebrates with Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos – Real Madrid’s second goal against UD Almeria on Friday

Pepe, the Real Madrid central defender, is known for being one of football’s most aggresive competitors, sometimes needlessly so. However, as the statistics reveal, the 31-year-old Brazilian-born Portuguese has cleaned up his act in a big way this season – he is the only one among 40 first-choice La Liga centre-backs to have not been issued a card of any colour in 2014/15 yet.

Not only that, despite having played for every minute of the 16 matches the Los Blancos have played this season, Pepe has also only committed five fouls. His partner in defence, Sergio Ramos, commonly thought to be the cleaner tackler, has committed 25 fouls and received five yellow cards in the same duration.

The figures are being seen as a revelation because Pepe was sent off in the 2014 World Cup for the 12th time in his career, and has a club record of 0.8 fouls committed per match over the last five years.

We have clearly come a long way since 2009, when Pepe had received a 10-match ban for kicking Getafe’s Javier Casquero and pushing his head into the turf and stamping on him several times, even after he had been sent off for fouling him.

Among the other famed defenders plying their trade in the La Liga, Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano has committed eight fouls and has seen yellow and red once apiece; Gerard Piqué has conceded seven fouls and has four yellow cards; Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godín has given away eight fouls and picked up three yellows.