PSG and Manchester City line up as Pepe turns away from China move

Still expected to leave Real Madrid

Posted Tuesday, April 04, 2017 by Marca.com

Having agreed a move to Hebei China Fortune, Real Madrid defender Pepe is now set to shun his 12 million euro salary in Asia and stay put in Europe amid interest from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

The centre-back has long made his mind up over leaving Los Blancos when his contract expires in the summer, despite still being a key part of Zinedine Zidane's side when fit, because the club have failed to offer him the two-year deal he desires.

That is not an issue with either City or PSG, where Pep Guardiola and Unai Emery admire Pepe and have made efforts to persuade the player's agent Jorge Mendes to agree to a move to their respective sides.

Naturally, neither can match Manuel Pellegrini's offer at Hebei in economic terms, but the sporting value of remaining in the Champions League cannot be underestimated.

The dealbreaker is believed to have been Pepe's national team boss Fernando Santos, as the Portugal boss explained that the 34-year-old would be putting his participation at the 2018 World Cup at serious risk if he were to move to China.

With that a prospect the defender is unwilling to risk, it appears that the final few months of his stay in Madrid will be spent negotiating a two-year stay in either Paris or Manchester.