Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo reckons the “door is still open” for him to achieve his dream of playing for Benfica.
The 22-year-old made his move to Scottish Premiership champions from the Lisbon giants permanent last summer and has continued to develop under Brendan Rodgers – helping fill the void left by Matt O’Riley’s big-money departure for Premier League side Brighton. His stock has continued to rise during the international break after his performance for Portugal’s U21 side after starring for his nation having netted in the win over the Faroe Islands and starring again in the win over Romania.
And while representing his country the playmaker was put on the spot about the prospect of returning to Benfica – where he came through the academy ranks, but only managed 17 appearances for the first-team. As he made his breakthrough, youth boss Renato Paiva branded him one of the “ future stars of the club” – and he concedes he would like to fulfil that potential one day.
He told O Jogo: “My dream has always been to play for Benfica and I think the door is still open. For me it is still open and if I return one day I will be very happy.”
However, Bernardo insists his focus remains on Celtic at this stage adding: “I’m happy at Celtic. I want to have a good 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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