Porto defender Pepe insists he still aims to lift the Champions League again despite leaving Real Madrid.
Rugged stopper Pepe won the competition three times with Madrid from 2007-2017.
Now the ace is dreaming of getting his hands on the trophy again after knocking out Juventus in the last 16 on away goals despite having Mehdi Taremi sent off.
Next up for Porto is a double-header with Chelsea in Seville.
Porto have not been past the quarter-finals since Jose Mourinho took them all the way in 2003-2004.
But asked if he felt he could win the competition again, Pepe, 38, replied: “Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t come here everyday and practise with the passion I have for football.
(Image: Soccrates/Getty Images)
“It gives me pleasure being inside the field and believing it is possible always.
“But we the players must be aware the Juventus match is over. It is past. It is part of history.
“What is more important now is to be aware of the difficulties we will face and focus.
“The match against Chelsea will be different.
“There is no certainty in football but I do hope we will be the usual team that our fans love.”
(Image: Jan Kruger)
Experienced Pepe, who has 113 international caps for Portugal, believes Chelsea will be favourites.
He added: “It is going to be a difficult match for us.
“We respect Chelsea of course but we also want to win this match.
“We all know they have great players.
“It is a team which has a value of around £700million but that doesn’t play.”
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