From Turkey: Pepe rescinds contract with Besiktas by mutual consent
Portugal international Pepe has had his contract with Turkish giants Besiktas terminated, according to reports from Turkey.
It is thought that Pepe, 35, agreed with the decision to part ways with the Istanbul outfit, who currently sit in 4th place in the Turkish top flight.
It was Turkish newspaper DHA that first revealed the news, giving no clear indication as to why the two parties decided to end their professional relationship, although Pepe is currently out injured.
One leading theory for why his contract has been terminated is that his salary is very high, and with Besiktas now out of the Europa League, it is thought that the Turkish team is facing financial problems.
Since Pepe has one of the highest salaries in the squad, his exit makes sense to help balance the books at the Turkish emblem.
As such, Pepe will now be a free agent in January, able to sign for any club at the start of the year, and the transfer speculation has already started.
Links to the Premier League have immediately come to fruition, with the Jorge Mendes client linked with English top flight side Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he would link up with several Portuguese players such as Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, as well as coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Wolves, it can be recalled, were heavily linked with a move for the Portuguese veteran in the summer, with Turkish newspapers even claiming that a move to the English club was very close to being agreed.
Wolves, who earned victory today against Bournemouth, are currently sitting in 7th in the Premier League, having been promoted to the top flight last season.
Pepe has played a total of 52 games for Besiktas over the past two seasons, including 17 outings this season. In fact, from 10 league matches this campaign, Pepe chipped in with three goals and 1 assist from defence, finding the back of the net on another two occasions in the Europa League too.
His departure means that the only Portuguese player remaining at the club is Ricardo Quaresma, another one of Portugal’s 23 European champions from 2016.
