Pepe leaves Real Madrid with barb for coach Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane may be enjoying the acclaim that comes with leading his club to their first domestic and European double in 50 years, but despite a good show, central defender Pepe barbed at Zidane.

Pepe will leave Real Madrid this summer after failing to sign a new contract with the club and will join either Paris Saint Germain or Inter Milan, reports Xinhua news agency.

Pepe spent 10 years with Real Madrid after joining from Porto, but says he left the club without exchanging a word with his coach.

"I did not say goodbye to Zidane because he and Real Madrid knew I was going before I knew myself," he said in an interview on radio station Cadena Cope on Tuesday.

"What Zidane has done with Real Madrid is spectacular, but there are things I do not understand, such as why I disappeared from the team," said the 34-year-old, who struggled with injury in the second half of the campaign and was replaced by Rafael Varene in the starting 11.

Pepe also said that one of the reasons he was ending his spell with Madrid was that the club did not offer him a two-year contract renewal.

--IANS

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