(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Tue 31 March 2026 20:45, UK

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Paulo Bernardo has signed up with a new agency ahead of a potential exit from Celtic this summer.

The 24-year-old has penned a deal with The Team ahead of the upcoming transfer window, as he looks set to potentially try and find a route out of Parkhead.

The Portuguese was frozen out under Brendan Rodgers in the early part of the season, and he has still played just 226 minutes of Scottish Premiership action since the start of the campaign.

Bernardo has not been able to force his way back into Martin O’Neill’s reckoning, and he looks set to remain on the fringes of the squad in the final stages of the Bhoys’ title push.

Celtic’s transfer plans are set to see them try and overhaul their group ahead of next season, and the midfielder is one of several first-team stars who could depart.

Paulo Bernardo keen on return to Portugal

Celtic are facing a significant level of uncertainty as they head into the summer, with a new managerial appointment set to be made and several changes expected in the squad.

The futures of several first-team players have been called into question in recent weeks, and Bernardo remains firmly below the likes of Arne Engels, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Reo Hatate in the midfield pecking order.

He admitted to the Scottish Sun back in February that he was having a “complicated” season, while he also revealed that he would like to move back to Portugal at some stage in the coming years.

Bernardo refused to rule out a return to his homeland, and with that in mind, the fact that he has just switched agents perhaps suggests that it could happen sooner rather than later.

The Bhoys are set to have a clearout of their group to allow their next manager to stamp his own imprint on the squad, and Bernardo is likely to be a candidate to be shown the door.

Celtic fans have already made up their minds on Bernardo

Celtic fans ripped into Bernardo after their Scottish Cup victory over Auchinleck Talbot back in January, as they took to social media to demand that he be sold during the winter window.

The supporters have quickly lost patience with the former Benfica man after the lack of impact that he has made this season, but they ultimately didn’t get their wish during the mid-season window.

However, it could be a totally different story this time around, as the midfielder has hardly picked up any minutes since his appearance in that cup clash.

He is still under contract at Celtic Park until the summer of 2029, but that may ultimately do little to convince the Bhoys’ hierarchy that he is worthy of a place as part of next year’s squad.