The Argentinian defender has enjoyed a season away from Celtic on loan at Brazilian Serie A side Internacional.
Bernabei fell out of favour with Brendan Rodgers and left Celtic and moved on loan to the Brazilian club back in March last year.
However, the Argentine didn’t get off to the best start at his new club as Bernabei missed his flight to join Internacional which delayed his temporary move from Celtic.
After a successful year at the club, Bernabei looks set to leave Celtic and join Internacional on a permanent basis after what seems like a never-ending series of talks.
Or is he? Internacional’s Vice President, José Olavo Bisol, was quizzed about the progress of Bernabei’s permanent transfer and highlighted the ‘complex’ nature of the negotiations with Celtic.
Alexandro Bernabei wants to leave Celtic and join Internacional
Bisol told Vozes do Gigante, “It’s a complex negotiation. As much as he was here with us, he’s a player who finished the league as the best left-back. He’s valued.
“He’s a player who has always shown that he’s comfortable, at ease and wants to stay, which was very important for us in a negotiating relationship.
“The player wants to stay with us. But we knew that, given all these issues, the negotiations would be complex.
“It’s not just about the price, which is also complex from a financial point of view for the club, but also about the relationships, the parties involved. There’s a club, there’s an agent, there’s negotiation time.”
Why Celtic refused to sell Alexandro Bernabei to Internacional last season
It seemed clear that from the start of Rodgers’ second tenure as Celtic manager Bernabei wasn’t going to feature much, so why did the Hoops gaffer not just cut his losses quicker?
Bisol explains, “Celtic were in the middle of a championship at the time and didn’t want to open a debate about it, and said they would only open a debate with us after the championship.
“We were constantly provoking them, but in a business relationship, you have to take things in your stride so that you don’t come across as desperate.
“There are stages to be overcome. I believe that we’re managing to overcome some stages. My outlook remains positive. I would like this to be resolved as soon as possible. We hope that, when this happens, we can truly formalise this for our fans.”
Hopefully, for all parties, this deal can be concluded sooner rather than later because as Celtic continue to pursue Kieran Tierney, it is clear Bernabei’s future at Paradise is over.
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