Was Former Real Madrid Favourite Pepe Right About The Supporters At The Santiago Bernabeu?

Pepe certainly isn’t in the habit of making friends where his former club, Real Madrid, are concerned.

He’d already fired a handful of broadsides in their direction after he left for Besiktas, but this time his ire was directed at the supporters who fill the Santiago Bernabeu for every home game.

The Portuguese centre-back suggested that the Los Blancos faithful ‘lacked enthusiasm,’ hinting there was no passion from the stands.

It was, he said, in stark contrast to the noise from Besiktas’ fans.

Taken literally, it could be conceived as a disgruntled ex-employee looking for column inches in the desperate need to still be important and relevant.

With the greatest of respect, the Turkish Super Lig gets nowhere near the coverage of the other main European leagues, and Pepe, clearly, still wants to be heard.   

But maybe he has a point…

After all, it was only last season that both Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez issued a plea for calm in newspapers sympathetic to the club.

On track for their first double in 60-odd years, there was still incessant whistling and booing towards certain players, in particular Keylor Navas, Danilo and Gareth Bale.

None had done anything wrong as such, but were perhaps a little off of the pace at times.

It made playing at home more of a bind than was necessary but fortunately the club were able to weather that storm and bring home silverware.

This season, the narrative has continued to be written by the locals but not by the team and now, when the players need them most, the fans aren’t by their sides.

For a club of such immense standing both domestically and in Europe, and not forgetting one who’ve enjoyed incredible recent success, it’s an unnecessary and unwanted problem.

To give some perspective, even Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t been immune.

That’s right, a player who has won five Ballon d’Or’s, who is Real’s all-time record scorer and who has won more matches on his own than can be remembered, he too has felt the wrath of the Madridistas.

Yes, you pays your money and you makes your choice, and it’s accepted that everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but when your best player of the last few years and his colleagues, who let’s not forget are still on for all six trophies this season at this point, still can’t satisfy their ‘support,’ there’s a cogent argument to have their patronage irrevocably withdrawn.