| Paulo Bernardo | |
| Full Name: | Paulo Guilherme Gonçalvés Bernardo |
| Birth Date: | 24 January 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Almada, Portugal |
| Height: | 1.80 m[1] |
| Position: | Central midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Celtic |
| Clubnumber: | 28 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2022 |
| Youthclubs1: | Benfica |
| Years1: | 2020–2024 |
| Clubs1: | Benfica B |
| Caps1: | 38 |
| Goals1: | 7 |
| Years2: | 2021–2024 |
| Clubs2: | Benfica |
| Caps2: | 17 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2023 |
| Clubs3: | → Paços de Ferreira (loan) |
| Caps3: | 13 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Clubs4: | → Celtic (loan) |
| Caps4: | 22 |
| Goals4: | 3 |
| Years4: | 2023–2024 |
| Caps5: | 1 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2024– |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017 |
| Nationalteam1: | Portugal U15 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017–2018 |
| Nationalteam2: | Portugal U16 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2018–2019 |
| Nationalteam3: | Portugal U17 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 19 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 4 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam4: | Portugal U19 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 1 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam5: | Portugal U21 |
| Nationalcaps5: | 21 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 6 |
| Club-Update: | 15:30, 11 August 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 18:37, 20 November 2023 (UTC) |
Paulo Guilherme Gonçalves Bernardo (pronounced as /pt/; born 24 January 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic[2]
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]
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]
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 30 December 2023, Bernardo scored his first goal for Celtic in a 2-1 win over rivals Rangers.[11]
On 1 August 2024, Bernardo returned to Celtic on a permanent transfer, signing a five-year contract.
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.[12]
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.[13]
| 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 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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 | 0 | 33 | 4 | |
| Celtic | 2024–25 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 35 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 91 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 112 | 13 | |||
Celtic
Individual