Real Madrid defender Pepe felt that Real Madrid was ‘hated’ during the Jose Mourinho era. The Portuguese manager have taken over at Real Madrid in 2010 after winning Champions League with Inter Milan.
He has managed Real Madrid for three years till 2013 in which he has helped the Spanish giants to La Liga title in 2012 (thier only league title in last 8 years) but had feuds with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and club captain Iker Casillas.
He failed to earn the respect of the fans across the country as he made some controversial decisions during his time at Santiago Bernabeu before making way for Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti.
“Under Mourinho, people hated us when we got out there,” Pepe told in an interview to Cadena Ser.
“It lasted three years and thank God it went very quick. Things changed when [Carlo] Ancelotti came in, you could see people started treating us different again.”
However, the 33-year old who is currently in the form of his life winning Champions League with Real Madrid last season and Euro 2016 with Portugal believes that he has come over the difficult relationship with Mourinho and is keen to focus on the current season.
“What happened with Mourinho is in the past now,” he said. “I was strong and got over it. I maintained my high level at Madrid.
“Mourinho and Zidane are very different, one could say they are opposites. But it’s not like one is bad and the other is good.
“Mourinho has a lot of experience as a coach, with great clubs and players. Zidane has only just started in La Liga last year. But he has played at the highest level himself and always knows what’s expected on the pitch.
“Zidane has been a player and knows what we think. He had a brilliant career at Madrid, so understands what the pressure is like here.”
The Portuguese centre-back is expected to sign a contract extension in the coming days as Los Blancos are banned from buying any players till January 2018 and are keen to keep hold of their star defender.