Paulo Bernardo (footballer)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Gonçalves and the second or paternal family name is Bernardo.
Paulo Bernardo
Bernardo with Benfica in 2020
Personal information
Full name Paulo Guilherme Gonçalvés Bernardo
Date of birth (2002-01-24) 24 January 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Almada, Portugal
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 28
Youth career
2010–2022 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 Benfica B 38 (7)
2021–2024 Benfica 17 (0)
2023 → Paços de Ferreira (loan) 13 (2)
2023–2024 → Celtic (loan) 22 (3)
2024– Celtic 19 (2)
International career‡
2017 Portugal U15 5 (1)
2017–2018 Portugal U16 11 (0)
2018–2019 Portugal U17 19 (4)
2019 Portugal U19 5 (1)
2021– Portugal U21 28 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:52, 8 January 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:37, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Paulo Guilherme Gonçalves Bernardo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawlu βɨɾˈnaɾðu]; born 24 January 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic[2]

Club career

Early career

A product of S.L. Benfica's youth system, Bernardo played for its ranks and signed his first professional contract with Benfica on 26 February 2018.[3] He made his debut for Benfica's reserve team in a Segunda Liga match against Vilafranquense on 2 February 2020, with manager Renato Paiva praising him as one of the "future stars of the club".[4]

Benfica

After a promising 2020–21 season with the B team, Bernardo started the 2021–22 season, with various solid performances, leading him to be named Liga Portugal 2's Midfielder of the Month for the months of October and November.[5] On 2 November 2021, Bernardo made his first-team debut coming on the 77th minute in a 5-2 Champions League group stage defeat at Bayern Munich.[6] Later that week, on 7 November 2021, he made his Primeira Liga debut coming on for injured João Mário on the 23rd minute for a 6–1 home win against Braga.[7]

On 31 January 2023, Bernardo was loaned by Paços de Ferreira until the end of the season.[8] On 6 March 2023, Bernardo scored his first goal for Paços de Ferreira in a 2-1 loss against Casa Pia.[9]

Celtic

On 1 September 2023, Scottish Premiership club Celtic announced the signing of Bernardo on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[10] On 26 December 2023, Bernardo scored his first goal for Celtic in a 0-3 victory over Dundee.[11]

On 1 August 2024, Bernardo returned to Celtic on a permanent transfer, signing a five-year contract.[12]

International career

With the Portugal under-17s, Bernardo took participated in the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Ireland, playing four matches, scoring one goal as the team lost in the quarter-finals to Italy.[13]

On 6 September 2021, Bernardo won his first cap for the under-21 side, replacing André Almeida in the 73rd minute in a 1–0 victory against Belarus for the 2023 European Championship qualification campaign.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 January 2025[15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Benfica B 2019–20 Liga Portugal 2 2 0 — — — 2 0
2020–21 17 4 — — — 17 4
2021–22 10 2 — — — 10 2
2022–23 9 1 — — — 9 1
Total 38 7 — — — 38 7
Benfica 2021–22 Primeira Liga 17 0 — 2 0 5[a] 0 24 0
2022–23 0 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 2 0
Total 17 0 0 0 3 0 6 0 26 0
Paços de Ferreira (loan) 2022–23 Primeira Liga 13 2 — — — 13 2
Celtic (loan) 2023–24 Scottish Premiership 22 3 5 1 0 0 6[a] 0 33 4
Celtic 2024–25 Scottish Premiership 19 2 0 0 4 1 6[a] 0 29 3
Total 41 5 5 1 4 1 12 0 62 7
Career total 109 14 5 1 8 1 18 0 139 16
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Celtic

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Paulo Bernardo". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Acordo fechado: Paulo Bernardo vai jogar no Celtic a título definitivo". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Benfica assina com cinco jovens, entre eles um avançado "com grande futuro"" [Benfica signs with five youngsters, including a striker "with great future"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 26 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Renato Paiva aponta futuro cracks 'made in Seixal':"Paulo Bernardo é o próximo génio"". www.record.pt (in Portuguese). 10 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Paulo Bernardo eleito o melhor médio da Segunda Liga nos meses de outubro e novembro" [Paulo Bernardo voted Segunda Liga's best midfielder for the months of October and November]. zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). 14 December 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Paulo Bernardo: "O mister depositou muita confiança em mim"" [Paulo Bernardo: «The coach put a lot of trust in me»]. maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 2 November 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Gverreiros comidos de cebolada" [Gverreiros defeated by cebolada]. zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). 7 November 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  8. ^ "PAULO BERNARDO ASSINA PELO FC PAÇOS DE FERREIRA" [Paulo Bernardo signs with Paços de Ferreira] (in Portuguese). F.C. Paços de Ferreira. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Casa Pia 2-1 Paços de Ferreira (6 Mar, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Paulo Bernardo joins from Benfica on season-long loan". Celtic F.C. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  11. ^ Campbell, Andy (26 December 2023). "Dundee 0-3 Celtic: Johnston shows 'impact' as champions win to move five points clear". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Paulo Bernardo: Celtic sign midfielder from Benfica on five-year deal". BBC Sport. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Portugal vs. Italy".
  14. ^ "Portugal vs. Belarus".
  15. ^ Paulo Bernardo at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  16. ^ Paulo Bernardo at ForaDeJogo (archived)
  17. ^ "Celtic thrash Kilmarnock to clinch 54th Scottish title". Reuters. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  18. ^ "Celtic leave it late to beat Rangers and win Scottish Cup". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Celtic 3–3 Rangers: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.