The midfielder has helped fill the vacuum left by Matt O’Riley since his transfer to Brighton.
Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo believes the “door is still open” for him to pursue his ambition of playing for Benfica. The 22-year-old joined the Scottish Premiership champions from the Lisbon giants permanently last summer and has continued to improve under Brendan Rodgers, helping to fill the vacuum created by Matt O’Riley’s big-money transfer for Premier League club Brighton. His value has risen over the international break following his performance for Portugal’s U21 team, which included goals against the Faroe Islands and Romania.
And, while representing his country, the playmaker was asked about returning to Benfica, where he rose through the youth levels but only made 17 first-team appearances. As he made his debut, young manager Renato Paiva dubbed him one of the “future stars of the club” – and he admits he hopes to live up to that potential one day.
He told O Jogo: “My desire has always been to play for Benfica, and I believe the door is still open. For me, it is still open, and I would be delighted if I could return one day.”
However, Bernardo believes that his current concentration is on Celtic, saying: “I’m delighted at Celtic. I hope to have a nice season. “I signed a five-year contract, I’m focused there and I’m not thinking about the future, but about having a great season, other opportunities come up and who knows, maybe moving to other places, but at the moment I’m focused on having a good season and I’m happy with my decision.”
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