Bernardo makes permanent move to Red Bull Salzburg
Brighton & Hove Albion have shifted another player on big money who was surplus to requirements off their books with Bernardo signing for Red Bull Salzburg on a permanent deal.
Bernardo joined Salzburg on loan from Brighton in January and helped them to an Austrian Bundesliga and ÖFB-Cup double. The left back made five starts and 10 substitute appearances in all competitions, his contribution being limited due to a knee injury picked up shortly after his arrival which ruled him out until mid-March.
He previously played for Red Bull Salzburg in the second half of the 2015-16 after signing from Red Bull Brasil in January 2016. He made 26 appearances before transferring to Red Bull Leipzig in the summer of 2016 for £3.4 million. He just needs to move to New York Red Bulls to complete the energy drink set.
Brighton then paid £9 million to Leipzig for Bernardo in the summer of 2018. He signed a four-year contract, which the mathematicians among you will have deduced still had a year to run.
No mention has been made anywhere of Salzburg paying money for his services, so it would appear that the Albion have waived a transfer fee in favour of getting his sizable pay packed off the wage bill.
Bernardo made a slow start to his career, not establishing himself in Chris Hughton’s first team for nearly six months. Once he nailed down a place however, he was one of the few players to impress in the second half of the 2018-19 season as Brighton’s form deserted them, eventually leading to Hughton being sacked come the end of the campaign.
As an attack-minded full back, there were high hopes that Bernardo would thrive under Graham Potter. The new manager never really took to Bernardo, affording him just one appearance from the opening four matches of the 2019-20 season before Bernardo had to go under the knife for knee surgery.
Once fit to return, Bernardo put in a series of bewildering performances on the rare occasions he made it onto the pitch as he veered from being absolutely shocking to looking good enough to play a part in the Premier League.
Nothing summed that up better than his showing in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in January. Having spent the first half wandering around like a bloke who had smoked 60 Lambert & Butler before the game and was having some sort of health crisis, he ended up being the best Brighton player on the pitch after the break.
Other examples of his inconsistency came when he was woeful against League One Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup (despite scoring his first and only Brighton goal). In stark contrast, his attacking threat down the left had Arsenal very worried in their December visit to the Amex, until Potter decided to give him a run out as a central midfielder for the final 25 minutes. As you do.
The most disappointing aspect about Bernardo failing to establish himself at Brighton is it means that the best Albion player-song ever invented will never be heard on the terraces again.
Sung to ABBA’s Fernando, “He came to Sussex by the Sea, from Germany, Bernardo.” Lyrical genius and easily the finest work that the NSK have ever come up with, it is criminal that it did not take off in the way it deserved.
Bernardo follows Davy Propper out the door, who was allowed to move on a free transfer to PSV Eindhoven last week. Brighton are also expected to try and move on Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Maty Ryan and Jurgen Locadia this summer, all of whom earn in excess of £40,000 a week but appear to have no future at the Albion.
