Alexandro Bernabei has sealed his permanent move to Internacional in the Brazilian Serie A, and despite failing to displace Greg Taylor at Celtic, he is set to star in Brazil.

Having joined the Brazilian side in March last year on loan, he was a roaring success, with 3 goals and 6 assists in 23 games. He earned a place in the Brazilian Team of the Season, even winning Left Back of the Year.

The hype surrounding Bernabei went as far as to attempt finding a way to get him into the Brazilian national team, despite him being Argentine.

Bernabei now appears set to find his way into the Argentine national team, although ultimately failed to break into the Celtic starting XI consistently, with Greg Taylor outlasting yet another Celtic left-back signing.

Greg Taylor Celtic
Soccer Football – Scottish League Cup – Final – Celtic v Rangers – Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – December 15, 2024 Celtic’s Greg Taylor celebrates after winning the League Cup Action Images via Reuters/Ed Sykes

Despite such a straightforward loan spell in Brazil, the same cannot be said for the transfer negotiations between Celtic and the Serie A side.

There were concerns that a permanent move could collapse after it stalled in recent weeks, but a deal was completed last night.

With Bernabei having no real future in Glasgow, a move to Brazil is best for his career and for Celtic, who can reinvest the reported £4.5 million they received, making a £0.75 million profit on the amount they paid Lanús for the Argentine in the summer of 2022.

Bernabei said: (Internacional), “First of all, thank you all very much. I am very happy to be back home.

“It tells us the joy I have to be here. Let’s go for a year full of beautiful things and good things. It was a bit of a strange experience because I didn’t know what fate had in store for me but I tried to stay calm that things were going to go wrong.

“I was always sending messages, asking and that made me very anxious and want to know what was going on.

“The support I received from the good group that exists as a family, the coaching staff, the leaders, I think that they handled themselves and continue to handle themselves in a good way and with me they were all very good and kind.

“So that always made me feel united as part of the group.”

Bernabei sounds delighted to return to Internacional and, in truth, never quite adapted to life at Celtic, with off-the-field issues affecting his time at the club almost immediately.

It’s great to see he has gotten his career back on track in style, proving he was by no means a poor player. Instead, Celtic just wasn’t the right fit at this stage of his career.

He will likely go on to find further success in Brazil, and his time at the Hoops will ultimately serve as a learning experience, where he has matured from his mistakes.

Bernabei now looks set to play alongside Lionel Messi in the Argentine national team over the next year. With the World Cup in 2026, he may be part of the team that looks to retain the title in just a year’s time.

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