Real Madrid sports chief Pedja Mijatovic insists he never had any doubts about the quality of defender Pepe.

The Portugal international has been outstanding since making a belated debut in recent weeks and was again superb last night at Athletic Bilbao.

Mijatovic said: "It was a very important victory, we gave a good image. We are not going to go into the winter market. With Pepe, we already knew what we had. People did not know that he was a great player, but we did because he is ours to have.

"I am glad for him and because it demonstrates that we have done well with our work."