“I’ll give up my money to give it to you!” - Ex-Real Madrid defender on how Cristiano Ronaldo offered him part of his salary to stay at Bernabeu

Former Real Madrid defender Pepe has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo selflessly offered him a part of his salary to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu. Despite the latter's best attempts, Pepe left the club in 2017 for non-financial reasons, joining Turkish outfit Besiktas.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe have shared a special bond on and off the field, having played together for club and country before the latter retired from the sport following Euro 2024. They shared the pitch during their days at Sporting CP's academy before reuniting at Real Madrid in 2009.

Despite forging a lethal defensive partnership with Sergio Ramos at the Bernabeu, Pepe, earning a reported wage of £110,000 per week, opted to join Besiktas as a free agent in 2017. However, Cristiano Ronaldo desperately offered him a part of his £365,000 weekly salary to convince him to stay.

In an interview with Renascenca (via GOAL), Pepe said:

"I talked to him a lot and he told me to stay at Real Madrid. But I think my time at the club had come, because it was a very demanding 10 years, where I gave up a lot of time. I tried to explain to him that I could no longer be there because of the difficulties I was having at the time and he said: 'If it’s about the money, mate, I’ll give up my money to give it to you!' And I said no: 'Thank God it’s not about that, it’s for other reasons'. I also wanted to get back to feeling football, and that’s it, I decided to go to Turkey."

The duo had great success together, with Real Madrid winning 11 trophies, including two LaLiga titles and three UEFA Champions League trophies. In addition, they secured Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League for the Portugal national team.

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How did Cristiano Ronaldo fare during his time at Real Madrid?

Cristiano Ronaldo currently plies his trade for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. However, at the peak of his powers, the Portugal icon dominated Europe during his nine-year stint at Real Madrid so let's take a quick look at his figures at the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo etched his name in Los Blancos' history by becoming the club's all-time top goalscorer. The 39-year-old netted 450 goals and provided 131 assists in 438 appearances across all competitions, helping the club win 15 trophies, including two LaLiga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies.

He also won four Ballons d'Or during his time with the LaLiga giants. However, a breakdown in contract talks led to him departing the club following the 2017-18 season for a €100 million transfer to Juventus.