Manchester City’s hopes of signing Pepe have been given a huge boost.
According to a report on talkSPORT talks between the defender and Real Madrid about a contract extension were surprisingly called off.
Despite a decade of service for the Spanish giants Real have refused to offer the defender a two year contract with just a 12 month deal on the table.
With Pep Guardiola looking to rearrange his defence with an experienced partner for John Stones a priority signing up the experienced Portuguese internationalist would make plenty of sense.
Pepe is out of contract in two months time and has resisted lucrative offers in China to continue his career at the top level in Europe where he has won two Champions League titles in the last three years.
As well as continuing at club level remaining in the front line ahead of the World Cup in Russia is important with Portugal looking to double up on their success at Euro 16.