Paulo Bernardo (footballer)

Paulo Guilherme Gonçalves Bernardo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawlu bɨɾˈnaɾdu]; born 24 January 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Benfica.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Gonçalves and the second or paternal family name is Bernardo.
Paulo Bernardo
Bernardo in 2020
Personal information
Full name Paulo Guilherme Gonçalves Bernardo
Date of birth (2002-01-24) 24 January 2002
Place of birth Almada, Portugal
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 55
Youth career
2010– Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Benfica B 29 (6)
2021– Benfica 12 (0)
National team‡
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 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:18, 2 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:28, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

Club 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.[1] 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".[2]

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.[3] On 2 November 2022, Bernardo made his first-team debut coming on the 77th minute in a 5-2 Champions League group stage defeat at Bayern Munich.[4] Later that week, on 7 November 2022, he made his Primeira Liga debut coming on for injured João Mário on the 23rd minute for a 6–1 home win against Braga.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 April 2022[8][9]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Benfica B 2019–20 LigaPro 20————20
2020–21 174————174
2021–22 102————102
Total 296————296
Benfica 2021–22 Primeira Liga 130—205[lower-alpha 1]0—200
Career total 326—2050—496
Notes
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Benfica

Individual

References
  1. "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). February 26, 2018. Retrieved 2021-02-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Renato Paiva aponta futuro cracks 'made in Seixal':"Paulo Bernardo é o próximo génio"". www.record.pt (in Portuguese). February 10, 2021.
  3. "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). December 14, 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "Paulo Bernardo: «O mister depositou muita confiança em mim»" [Paulo Bernardo: «The coach put a lot of trust in me»]. maisfutebol (in Portuguese). November 2, 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Gverreiros comidos de cebolada" [Gverreiros defeated by cebolada]. zerozero.pt (in Portuguese). November 7, 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Portugal vs. Italy".
  7. "Portugal vs. Belarus".
  8. Paulo Bernardo at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  9. Paulo Bernardo at ForaDeJogo
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