SPAIN: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Former Porto centre-back Pepe is presented as Real Madrid's new signing on a 30 million euros contract

Real Madrid presented Brazilian-born defender Pepe on Thursday (July 12) after the 24-year old completed a two-day session of medical checks. "Dear Pepe, many thanks for having chosen Real Madrid. I am confident that you and your family will have a good stay with us, I am sure you will achieve a lot of success with our team. Many thanks and welcome," Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon said during the presentation before handing Pepe his new white shirt. "I thank you for Real Madrid's confidence, I hope to succeed in this great club, I will make every effort to help Real Madrid to achieve their objectives during the upcoming season," the former Porto centre-back said. After posing for photographers and greeting fans attending his presentation, Pepe said he was determined to prove he was worth the 30 million euros his former club Porto said the Spanish champions had paid for him. "I am a player who works hard, is fast and strong. I have two Portuguese league titles behind me, and although the Spanish league is different than the Portuguese league, I am going to do my best to consolidate myself as a Real Madrid player," he told a news conference. Pepe, who is nicknamed "the scissors", said he was not worried about having to compete for a place in the starting line up with Italian World and European Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro and Germany international Christoph Metzelder. "Pressure is a good thing and any player who comes here knows what is required of him," he said. Pepe is Real's second signing of the close season after Bernd Schuster was named as Fabio Capello's successor as coach on Monday (July 9). Metzelder was presented on Wednesday (July 11) and Polish goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek and Argentine striker Javier Saviola are reported by the Spanish media to be next on Real's agenda.

ITN Source | July 13, 2007

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