Jesús Vallejo officially presented as a Real Madrid player

It took nearly two years since Vallejo's signing in 2015, but finally Real Madrid presented Jesús Vallejo as their new player for next season. Vallejo chose the vacant and illustrious #3 shirt and stated that he's very honoured to wear the same shirt as Pepe.

After medical tests and contract signing were completed, Florentino Perez and Jesús Vallejo appeared in the presidential box for the official presentation.

Florentino Perez in his opening statement welcomed the young Spaniard and stressed that Real Madrid can't get complacent with recent success. They must continue to look ahead, improve and evolve.

Today, we're incredibly pleased to be able to present another one of them. He's a player who has all the qualities necessary to be a success at Real Madrid. He's 20 years old and has quality in abundance to come into the first team. We would like to welcome Jesús Vallejo.

At the end of his speech, Florentino Perez paid tribute to Don Alfredo Di Stéfano, who passed away on this day three years ago.

Just as it was in his day for the best player of all time, Alfredo Di Stéfano, who left us on this day exactly three years ago. We remember him with strong emotions, although he remains a constant presence at this great club. I want to recall the fact that he changed the history of football and of Real Madrid. Jesús, this is your home, welcome. All I have to say, just like Alfredo Di Stéfano did, is, look after the ball and play to win

Jesús Vallejo delivered a short and measured speech, but with authority. This young defender displayed maturity of a seasoned player throughout his time in Real Zaragoza, which is historically a big club in Spain, and on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Leaders are always hard to find and recently we lost one to Beşiktaş JK. However, everything we have seen so far suggest that today we gained one. Jesús Vallejo became the captain of Real Zaragoza when he was just 18 years old and given his very young age, we might be looking at a future Real Madrid captain. But more importantly, if he can bring his leadership qualities onto the pitch, it doesn't really matter whether or not he wears the armband.

He has big shoes to fill, but I wouldn't choose any other player to replace Pepe. He is the perfect candidate and he is ready. Good luck.

'Many thanks to everyone; to you, Mr. President for your words, to the club, who have shown faith in me when they signed me, and again now as a first-team player. I know this is far from over, there's still so much to come for me. With the values of humility, effort and sacrifice that my parents have fostered in me, I hope to be here for many years, at the best club in the world. I would like to thank my family and friends and my girlfriend as well, who couldn't be here today.'

'I want to thank the fans for the warm welcome, it's been wonderful. Being a Real Madrid player makes you proud and it's a responsibility. I'm thrilled to accept this responsibility. Thanks to everyone, I'm going to give my all for this badge and this shirt. Hala Madrid!'