La Liga leaders Real have ­decided to listen to offers for the 28-year-old after he was caught up in yet more controversy during the first leg of their Copa Del Rey quarter-final with fierce rivals Barcelona 11 days ago.

Pepe was accused of stamping on Lionel Messi’s hand as the Argentinian lay on the ground.

Although he has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Spanish Football Federation, that has not stopped a furore over the incident. Hotline understands that Real president Florentino Perez is ­growing increasingly tired of what he sees as a lengthening list of ­misdemeanours by the player.

Now Chelsea will ­monitor the situation and, if it proves to have broken down beyond repair, will see if a deal can be struck ­after Euro 2012.

The Real ­hierarchy believe that Pepe is ­damaging the ­image of the club, while the player ­himself is said to be furious at what he perceives to be a campaign in the Spanish press to paint him in a bad light.

Real boss Jose Mourinho is aware of the club’s position and knows that, unless things change between now and the end of the season, Pepe will be sold.

Villas-Boas is a big fan of the Brazil-born Portugal defender and believes he could be a key signing for Chelsea.

Pepe’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is aware of Villas-Boas’ interest in his client, ­although there has been no ­formal enquiry from Stamford Bridge.

Real paid Porto £25million for Pepe in 2007 and last summer signed a new deal to keep him in Madrid until 2016.

His annual salary at Real is around £3m, which Chelsea would be able to match.

（Sunday People）

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The Santiago Bernabeu club drew level through Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema after going behind to goals from Pedro and Dani Alves, but they could not beat Jose Pinto a third time.

The result means that Jose Mourinho’s side are unable to defend their Copa del Rey title after their 2-1 defeat in the first leg, but Pepe believes that the Madrid faithful should be happy with the display.

“We showed the true ‘Madridista’ spirit, the spirit of a great group,” he said after the game. “Today, we were very superior to Barca. We are proud of what we did and of what we have. The fans are also proud.”

Pepe escaped punishment for his stamp on Lionel Messi in the first leg, but he did not wish the comment on his controversial action in last week’s match.

“I will only talk about football,” the Portuguese continued. “But I hope that this week everything that happened during this match will be debated.”

Barcelona will now face either Levante or Valencia in the semi-final of the competition.

（Goal.com）

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The repercussions from that defeat remain to be seen, even eventual elimination from the Copa del Rey would be palatable for José Mourinho so long as his side’s moral isn’t sapped on their return to league business. However thankfully one decision resulting from Wednesday’s performance has already been made as Pepe is not expected to feature either against Athletic or Barcelona in midweek.

Mourinho will revert to a more offensive line-up than the trivote in midfield he used against the Catalans on Wednesday. That should mean a recall for Mesut Ozil in the playmaking role and possibly a return for Ángel Di María should he pass a fitness test.

Álvaro Arbeloa will come back in at right-back in place of Hamit Altintop and with Pepe withdrawn, Ricardo Carvalho should continue at centre-back.

In contrast to Real Madrid’s woes in midweek, Athletic took a big step towards the semi-final with a 2-0 win over Mallorca. Marcelo Bielsa’s men have now not conceded in six games and since the return of Fernando Llorente to the starting line-up have scored nine times in their last three.

Moreover, all five of Athletic’s last five goals have come from headers, an area in which Real Madrid have been very poor recently conceding five of their last six from crosses into the box.

Bielsa is expected to make just the one change from the side that started against Mallorca as Jon Aurtenetxe is suspended so Mikel San José could come into the heart of the defence. Iñigo Pérez trained at left back midweek, but Fernando Amorebieta now looks set to go in at left-back.

（Spanish football）

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The Portuguese manager said Saturday “the player has spoken and that is enough” after including Pepe in his squad for Sunday’s home game against Athletic Bilbao.

Real Madrid lost 2-1 Wednesday to Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. Mourinho said after the game if Pepe had stepped on Messi’s hand intentionally it would be “punishable.”

The following day Pepe issued a statement on Madrid’s website saying the stomp was “unintentional.”

（NBCSports.com）

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The 28-year-old was the centre of attention in Wednesday’s Clasico clash, receiving wide-spread criticism for his boisterous performance that included an alleged stamp on Lionel Messi’s hand.

The Portuguese defender was substituted during the game with a hamstring strain, although Jose Mourinho was unhappy with his player’s performance, after his poor marking allowed Carles Puyol to get the Catalan side back on level terms.

Taking the knock and Pepe’s performance into consideration, Jose Mourinho looks set to take his compatriot out of the firing line for the next fortnight.

This will mean the player is likely to miss the return-leg the Copa del Rey at Camp Nou, as well as his side’s league clashes with Athletic Bilbao, Real Zaragoza and Getafe.

（Goal.com）

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The Portugal defender has come under fire for stamping on Lionel Messi during his side’s 2-1 loss to Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

It was the latest incident involving Pepe since he joined Madrid in 2007, the most serious of which dates back to 2009, when he kicked Getafe’s Javier Casquero twice during a league match, an action that earned him a 10-match ban.

Pepe has since apologised to Messi, insisting he never intended to hurt the Argentine, but Michel, who played at Madrid between 1982 and 1996, is worried that these incidents will continue to happen.

“I think it is too late for Pepe now,” Michel told Radio Marca. “This is a complicated situation, it will bring prejudice.

“He says he is sorry. A player can make a mistake and he does not know why it happened. I have seen Pepe regret what he did to Casquero and three years have passed since then.

“It is surely too late for him to change.”

（Goal.com）

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Jose Mourinho will be without the suspended Alvaro Arbeloa who failed in his attempt to get his one-match ban overturned. Fabio Coentrao is expected to deputise at right-back. Pepe is a doubt with a thigh strain although the Portuguese defender is expected to pass a late fitness test.

Sami Khedira is definitely ruled out of the game after spraining his ankle last week against Malaga so Lassana Diarra is in line to keep his place in the Madrid starting line-up.

Jose Callejon should retain his place in the first XI due to Angel di Maria picking up a fresh injury in training.

Barcelona will be without Seydou Keita, who is away at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations while Andreu Fontas looks unlikely to appear again this season after picking up a serious knee injury in the Copa del Rey win over Osasuna last week.

Pedro also picked up a knock in the game and appears to have been ruled out while Pep Guardiola will be without David Villa and Ibrahim Afellay who have long-term injuries.

Dani Alves looks set to return to the starting line-up while Cesc Fabregas is expected to continue his role upfront alongside Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez. Jose Pinto will start the game in goal, with the experienced goalkeeper continuing his run in the domestic cup.

（Goal.com）

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Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho could be forced to make do without the services of defender Pepe in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Barcelona on Wednesday as the Portuguese centre-back has picked up a thigh injury.

Pepe sustained the knock during last Saturday’s 2-1 La Liga win over Real Mallorca, and was forced to sit out Monday’s squad training due to the thigh problem.

The defender stated earlier this week that he would be willing to feature in a holding midfielder role in order to contain Barcelona star Lionel Messi, but Madrid have now confirmed on their official website that the 28-year-old is undergoing treatment for a contusion.

It’s not yet known whether Pepe will be fully match fit in time for the clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Wednesday’s Copa del Rey encounter in the Spanish capital kicks off at 22.00CET.

（Goal.com）

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Pepe was happy to overcome Real Mallorca 2-1 yesterday.

“We’re finding it a little hard to find focus at the start of our games and we’ll have to fix this so that it doesn’t happen again. We must change our mentality, rest and later on think about what we must do against Barcelona,” said Pepe.

“The coach handed me tactical instructions on a note and I had to tell my teammates about it. He wanted us to defend well because Mallorca were going to look for an equaliser.”

（Tribalfootball.com）

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