In the last five matches alone, Bernal has recorded four goals in all competitions, which is quite impressive for a midfielder. During the Brazilian's debut 2018/19 season in Spain, he managed four goals across 31 matches, totalling 1,742 minutes of play. In comparison, Bernal has reached that same four-goal tally in just 695 minutes.
Bernal has been with Barcelona's academy right from the Prebenjamin stage, i.e. the under 7-under 8 stage of his career. Right from then, he has been one of the team's top goalscorers. He arrived in Catalonia as the top scorer of his former team, Gimnastic de Manresa, for their Prebenjamin side, and continued his form for Barcelona's corresponding category with 58 goals in 28 appearances.
The Turkish giants were willing to pay up to €30 million for a midfielder who has featured in just 21 competitive matches for the club. Galatasaray were also willing to triple Bernal's current salary at Barcelona - an offer that had set off alarm bells within the Blaugrana camp. Galatasaray were so desperate to sign Bernal that the president, Okan Buruk, himself took the mantle of negotiating this deal with Barcelona.
Two seasons ago, Eric Garcia arrived at Montilivi on loan from Barcelona, a move that significantly boosted his development while also strengthening Girona's defensive structure. His improvement during that spell earned praise across La Liga and has since been considered a model example of how a young Barça player can grow when given consistent responsibility in a competitive environment. Girona believe that Bernal, still at the early stages of his top-flight career, could benefit in much the same way.
After the match, Bernal shared the advice Flick had given him before stepping onto the pitch. He offered context by explaining that Flick had been keeping an eye on his rhythm over the past week. "Yes, he told me to make the most of today's match. "We also played a match on Thursday, mainly so that I could feel better, get into rhythm, and that's what I did, making the most of it," Bernal explained.
"Marc Bernal is one of the 22 players called up by the Catalan national team for the match on November 18," the statement revealed. "The midfielder from Berga has been called up by coach Gerard López and will wear the four bars for a very special and charity match against Palestine at the Olympic Stadium next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m." The 18-year-old midfield starlet, who has barely played since returning from an ACL injury back in September, will make use of the match to build some rhythm and get more minutes under his belt.
