Jermaine Jenas exclusive: Pepe, the man we love to hate, has proved himself to be Portugal's main man

Everything about Portugal for the past month was focused on Cristiano Ronaldo, but we were all looking at the wrong man, because it turns out that the star of their Euro 2016-winning side was actually Pepe.

Like many people, I've often found the centre-back an infuriating player to watch because his persistent theatrics and sportsmanship have seemed to undermine his obvious talent.

Sometimes this has backfired, and in the past he has got himself sent off in big games, but it seems that something has clicked with Pepe this season. In the big games, he has been the man his managers can count on.

I've watched him in two finals in the past few weeks, the other being the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid, and on both occasions he has been magnificent.

Some players just have that big-game mentality. When Pepe has been called upon when his team has needed him most, especially this season, he has been a rock.

And when Ronaldo faded into the background at the Stade de France, it was his Real Madrid team-mate who became the team's new talisman. He made sure his country, and his mate Ronaldo, got to lift that trophy.

There was a doubt over whether Pepe would be fit for the final after he missed the semi-final against Wales with a thigh strain, but he battled back and Portugal should be glad he did, because I'm not sure they would have held out against France without him.

Once Portugal lost Ronaldo, it meant that if France wanted the win they had to go and get it, and in the end - after a bright start - they looked scared.

Any time France sent the ball into the box, or if the likes of Olivier Giroud or Andre-Pierre Gignac need marshalling, time and again it was Pepe who dealt with the situation. He was phenomenal.

At the start of the tournament, Ronaldo himself made the point to Rio Ferdinand, who I spoke to about this in France, that Portugal's defence in this tournament was the strongest he has ever been involved with.

That was a big statement, partly because Portugal have had some top defenders in the past but also because it showed that even Ronaldo had accepted that the defence - rather than him - was the team's trump card in France.

People have accused them of not playing any football until the second half against Wales, which may be true, but it doesn't matter. They played what was in front of them and they ended up winning the trophy - that's the only part history will remember.

When you talk about the best defenders around - the likes of Jerome Boateng, Sergio Ramos, Mats Hummels, Raphael Varane (who I believe will be a top player within a couple of years) - you have to include Pepe in that too. He's athletic, he's strong, he's good on the ball and he's definitely one of the top five centre-backs in the world.

There's a horrible side to him too - the rolling around, play-acting, complaining - and you'll never take that out of him. Some players - the likes of Diego Costa or my former team-mate Craig Bellamy - need that drama to bring the best out of them. They play better if they feel hated. Off the pitch, Pepe is probably the nicest man around.

I've spoken to many strikers who say they would love to play against him because they think they could wind him up, but I don't see him get outwitted like that very often - especially not in recent times. He's just as clever at winding up strikers.

The question of whether Portugal were the best team in the tournament is irrelevant to a degree. They were defensively organised, they were all very comfortable on the ball... and that was about it. But they've won it, and that's what matters.

The team I most enjoyed watching was Italy, while Germany had the best squad. But we've seen in the Premier League with Leicester, and now in the Euros with Portugal, that the team with the best players on paper doesn't necessarily win. Maybe it's better these days to have just a couple of stars to build a team around, rather than having a team of stars.

In Portugal's case, they set themselves up with Ronaldo and Nani to score the goals and the rest of the team to stay solid, and Pepe was at the heart of that winning strategy. You might dislike him - I have done too in the past - but he is a big part of the reason why Portugal and Real Madrid have won Europe's two biggest trophies this season.