Celtic loanee explains why he was frozen out squad as Parkhead return not ruled out despite option to buy
Hoops midfielder was sent out on loan with an option to buy last month
Celtic player Paulo Bernardo reckons he lost his place in the starting XI at Parkhead due to playing out of position and inconsistency.
The Portuguese midfielder was sent out on loan last month to Polish side Gornik Zabrze, who will have an option to buy him at the end of the season. After coming through the academy ranks at Lisbon giants Benfica, the 24-year old signed on loan for the Hoops in 2023. Manager Brendan Rodgers also included an option to buy clause in the short-term deal as they made the transfer permanent at the end of the season. Bernardo would make over 70 appearances in his first two years at the club.
Since then however, the midfielder lost his place in the team and has mainly been on the fringes of the squad. Last season, he made only eight league appearance - the majority of which from the bench - whereas the previous campaign he featured 30 times. Clearly not part of manager Martin O’Neill’s immediate plans, his loan move to the Ekstraklasa is designed to give him another chance of regular first-team football.
Why does Bernardo think he was frozen out at Celtic?
Despite this, the midfielder is adamant that it was actually the beginning of last season under Rodgers that sparked the downhill spiral. He explained to The Herald: "In the beginning of the season, with the signing of other players, I started to play more as a six and not as my initial position when I joined Celtic. I think that was one of the key facts. In Celtic I never got the consistency to play in a run of games. It was always one or two and then bench again.
"Then maybe one start and then one bench. I think for me, I never got the consistency. For me, I think that was the problem at Celtic. I started to play in a more deep role. I'm not that comfortable there and I don't like it that much. I think that was it last season."
When asked if he prefers to play as a number eight, he responded: "Yes, I think for me that's the best position I can play because I like to defend in the midfield, but I like to attack as well and be closer to the goal and have the opportunities to score goals or to create goals. For me, it's important to play. I can play as a six as well and I think I play well when I play there, but I think I can give more to the game as a No.8."
Bernardo open to Hoops return
The former Portuguese youth international has made five appearances for Gornik Zabrze, who will make an assessment on him at the end of the season. Despite the option to buy clause in his contract, Bernardo also claimed that if he went back to Celtic he’d still be happy. He continued: "If Gornik want me in the final part of the season, I'm happy here right now and I think it can be a good thing.
"I always loved my time at Celtic. The football last season, I didn't enjoy that much because I didn't play, but I was very happy for me and my team to win the championship in that part of the season was amazing, and the cup. I will always love Celtic. I think it's one of the biggest clubs in the world. I will fight always for my place, but you never know in these situations. I don't have any regrets to join Celtic or I don't have any problems to join Celtic again."
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