The entire football world stopped breathing for exactly 178 minutes this morning.

At 11:18 WET, a verified-looking Twitter/X account @ABola_Oficial_URGENTE posted a single, devastating line:

“Pepe has passed away at the age of 42. Official statement to follow shortly.”

Within seconds the tweet had 200,000 retweets. By 11:25, #RIPPepe was the number-one trending topic worldwide. Television channels interrupted programming. Radio stations in Portugal played only somber music. Fans gathered spontaneously outside the Estádio do Dragão holding scarves and candles.

Cristiano Ronaldo, training with Al-N011ssr in Riyadh, immediately left the pitch in tears, cancelled every commitment, and boarded his private Gulfstream G650 with the registration CR7. Flight tracking websites showed the jet taking off at 12:03 Saudi time, destination: Porto.

Sergio Ramos, who was in Sevilla preparing for a legends match, dropped everything and took the first available flight from San Pablo Airport. Marcelo, living in Rio, chartered a Dassault Falcon and flew across the Atlantic. Luka Modrić, Iker Casillas, Fábio Coentrão, and almost the entire core of Portugal’s Euro 2016-winning squad were suddenly airborne, all heading to the same city.

Porto-Norte Airport became a scene of pure emotion. Ronaldo landed first at 13:49 local time. Cameras captured him stepping off the plane wearing sunglasses, eyes visibly red, refusing to speak but placing his hand on his heart toward the waiting journalists.

Ramos arrived twenty minutes later, hugged Ronaldo without saying a word, and the two former Real Madrid captains stood together in silence for several minutes while photographers documented one of the most powerful images in football history.

Social media was flooded with tributes.

FC Porto released a black crest. Real Madrid posted a minute-long video montage ending with the caption “Forever one of us.”

The official Champions League account wrote: “The coliseum will never sound the same without his roar.”

Even rival fans put differences aside. Barcelona’s official account tweeted a photo of Pepe and Messi embracing after a Clásico with the simple words “Respect forever.” Lionel Messi, currently in Miami, reportedly booked a flight to Portugal as well, though it was later cancelled.

At 14:11, Portuguese television station SIC Notícias claimed a family member had confirmed the death. Stock images of Pepe throughout his career began circulating alongside candle emojis. Florists in Porto reported they had completely run out of white roses.

Then, at 14:27 exactly — 189 minutes after the first tweet — something impossible happened.

A man wearing an FC Porto training top, tracksuit bottoms, and slides walked casually into the VIP arrivals hall of Porto Airport.

It was Pepe.

Alive. Confused. And holding a bottle of water.

The scene that followed will be replayed for decades.

Ronaldo spotted him first. His face transformed from grief to disbelief to pure joy in less than two seconds. He sprinted across the terminal and tackled Pepe in a hug so fierce they both fell to the ground laughing and crying at the same time.

Sergio Ramos arrived running, shouting “Hijo de puta, you almost killed us!” before joining the pile-on. Marcelo was sobbing uncontrollably. Modrić stood frozen, hands on his head, repeating “This is not real… this is not real…”

Pepe, still on the floor surrounded by his brothers, managed to speak:

“Calma, calma! I just came from training! My phone died and I left it in the locker room. What the hell is going on?!”

The truth emerged quickly.

The original tweet came from a parody account that had purchased a blue checkmark and changed its display name to mimic Portugal’s biggest sports newspaper. A single screenshot, taken out of context from an old interview where Pepe joked about “dying on the pitch,” had been edited and attached. From there, panic, speed, and human emotion did the rest.

Pepe’s wife, Ana Sofia, had been frantically calling everyone because she couldn’t reach him after training — which only fueled the fire. When she finally saw him walk through the front door at home an hour later, she reportedly slapped him across the face before bursting into tears of relief.

Pepe was live on Instagram from his living room, surrounded by Cristiano, Ramos, and half the Portugal 2016 squad eating pastel de nata and drinking Super Bock.

He posted a video with the caption:

“I died for 3 hours and came back stronger. See you tomorrow against Sporting. Header incoming. Dedicated to everyone who planned my funeral already.”

FC Porto’s official account replied: “Training tomorrow is optional for you, king. Take the day off. You just survived your own death.”

As of 20:00 GMT, Pepe has confirmed he feels “better than ever” and will start tomorrow night’s clash against Sporting CP at the Estádio do Dragão.

The toughest man in football history didn’t just beat Father Time today.

He beat Death itself — and then laughed about it with his friends.