Portugal ace Pepe mobbed at airport in Turkey as he joins Besiktas from Real Madrid for £8.3m
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PEPE was mobbed by delirious Besiktas fans as he arrived in Istanbul to join the Turkish champions from Real Madrid on a two-year deal.
The 34-year-old landed in Istanbul before dawn aboard a private plane before completing his £8.3million transfer.
But that did not catch the local fans out and he was given a rousing welcome by hundreds of supporters who had waited overnight at the airport.
He was then unveiled by the club in a press conference.
According to the NTV Spor website, Pepe will receive an annual salary of £2.9m, plus performance bonuses, as well as a sign-on fee of £2.6m.
For years in the shadow of Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce and Galatsaray, the Black Eagles have won the Turkish Super Lig title for the last two seasons.
With the title, Besiktas also claim Turkey's sole automatic Champions League spot and will hope for a drastic improvement on their group-stage exit last time round.
While French internationals Mathieu Valbuena and Bafetimbi Gomis have signed for Fenerbahce and Galatasaray respectively, Pepe is arguably the biggest name to arrive in Istanbul so far this summer.
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Pepe spent the last decade as a key member of the star-studded Real Madrid side and helped Portugal to victory in Euro 2016, winning the man-of-the-match award in the victory in the final over France.
At Besiktas, Pepe joins forces with his Portugal team-mate, the winger Ricardo Quaresma, who has played for the Istanbul side from 2015 after an earlier 2010-2012 stint and is a big favourite with fans.